War of the Worlds
by OC Starbuddy
Summary: OH MY GOSH! I finally posted chapter 20... whee! Anyway, the plot has thickened, so you'd better read! Wow, it's been so long, someone prolly had a KID by now...
1. Wanna join?

Arizda: Hi, everyone! This is going to be a sort of interactive ficcy! Only thing is, the chapters are going to be a bit longer than most others, and I'm accepting pretty much any kind of characters and plot ideas! Just e-mail them to me at Quikko@survivormail.com , or, you can get a hold of me on AIM with the s/n OCStarbuddy! Anyway, if you submit a character, I shall give you full credit, and it will surely be used. And any time you want your character to specifically do something, just get a hold of me with my e-mail or on AIM! You can also get in touch with me by neomailing me at Neopets (which I do not own, and speaking of the disclaimer, I don't own Zoids, either!). There, my screen name is quikko. Anyway, read below what I have to say, because I'm wrappin' up this paragraph!  
  
Okay, thanks for reading. First of all, I just have to say that after a long and boring summer vacation (which I am still in the middle of), I have gotten quite brain drained, because there aren't enough activities to give me ideas to write. But y'know, I want to write anyway, so this is where I need your help, everyone! I'm starting a fanfiction continuing right after the first season of Zoids, and you could call it Zoids season 1 ½, if you like! Lol. Because of this, you still have your regular characters: Bit, Leena, Brad, Jamie, and Doc. Don't forget the Backdraft team, Naomi Fluegal, and the occasional visit from Harry ^_^. If you're bent on giving me your character to use in the story, just know this one thing: I WILL USE EVERY CHARACTER SUBMITTED TO ME! So don't fret if you don't think it's good at all. I promise, I'll use all of the characters I get. I also don't want a bunch of youngin's. What I mean by this is that it would be GREAT if you could submit older people, like mad scientists, and such. That would be great, and it would be a great spark in the ficcy. Well, onto explaining the different parts of the character development sheet, oik?  
  
**NAME** This, I think, is a true no-brainer. Just put down your character's FULL NAME. I'm not asking for its nickname, I'm asking for his/her FULL NAME. Please don't put question marks. If it was meant to be unknown, just tell me that in parentheses. ^_^  
  
**AGE** Another no-brainer, ne? Yes, just tell me how old your character is. Short story made even shorter. : D  
  
**GENDER** Tell me whether your character is a boy or a girl. Simple.  
  
**NATION** This is very simple. Just tell me if your character is one of the following: Good, evil, neutral, or confused (lol). Good is obviously one of the characters that fights with a pure heart, evil does no good, neutral is a more minor character who fights for the heck of it, and a confused character has no idea what side that they're on and is on the borderline of good and evil.  
  
**NICKNAME** Does your character have a nickname? If so, tell it to me.  
  
**HAIR COLOR** I need a hair color and style.  
  
**EYE COLOR** I need an eye color.  
  
**PERSONALITY** Basic definition of your character. I just need a nice, short, little description of how they act. I definitely need to know how they act when happy, when sad, when angry, when scared, and when they're in love (since I CAN make pairings w/your character and others once it's handed over, unless you state otherwise).  
  
**DESCRIPTION** Casual, formal, and just anything else that you can think of. What does your character like/dislike? And other nonsense here. Height, weight, ect.  
  
**ZOID** Tell me all about it here.  
  
**ID#** In the ficcy, everyone has there own ID # which greatly adds to the plot of the ficcy. So please just make up a number. ^_^ Preferably one with 6-9 digits.  
  
**RELATIONS** I just might go deep into the plot with YOUR character, and if you want me to, you might consider listing your LIVING relatives. ^_^ Please put down their gender, age, and family status.  
  
Okay, that should be it. Here's an example for you to follow, if you need it. Expect to see this character in the story. When he shows up, I will expect YOU readers out there to already know him! ^_-!  
  
Name: Kashie Kirazuna (Note: The "sh" in Kashie is pronounced like the "s" in casual) Age: 12 Gender: Male Nation: Confused Nickname: His sister and Dalanette sometimes call him "Kash". Hair Color: Black, kind of spiky. Think of Mega Man's hair in Mega Man Legends. Eye Color: Blue Personality: Can be a punk, and a brat. Watch out for his attitude, he doesn't like to be messed with. He does get along with others just fine though. He's a Libra. He will get extremely pissed and will get mad if you hurt a girl or one of his close friends in front of him. When he's happy, he'll be really sarcastic. When sad, he'll pout about a lot of things, and he's really sensitive. When angry, he'll either throw things at you, or throw you at things. ^_^ Description: When he's in his casual outfit, he likes to wear brown work jeans and dark brown and green shirts, so he can work on his Zoid at any given time. On formal occasions, he'll tidy up what he's wearing, and slap on a pair of PERFECT looking navy blue denim jeans. He'll also worry about his breath a lot. His battle outfit is the same as his casual outfit, except that he wears a dark green long sleeve jacket over it. Likes different flavored milk (chocolate, strawberry, banana, orange, ect.), is 4'11", and weighs 89 lbs. Quite shrimpy. Zoid: ***SLASHBACK SPINO*** This Zoid was a custom Zoid built by his trusty sister who is never around anymore. Is built in the shape of a Spinosaurus, is red with orange and white armor, and golden claws and teeth, and a long and powerful metal tail with an energy cannon at the end. There are two custom-made 15-barrel gatling guns attached to each shoulder, and several hidden mini missiles. This Zoid also contains a "Strike Laser Claw" attack, and a "Spine Strike" attack. Speed isn't the strongest point, the only booster being in the tail. A fairly weak but strong when used right Zoid. ID#: 0115173 Relations: Mother--? Father--? Sister: Runa -(15 ½)-  
  
  
  
TAH DAH! Any plot ideas are welcome, also! Please review with your characters/plot ideas, and read the next chapter! I write fast, so I should get the characters in, ASAP! ^_^ Thank you in advance!  
  
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Arizda / OCStarbuddy 


	2. Cake?

A/N: This is my first Zoids ficcy, and I've been planning it out n' all, so please tell me what you think after you read it! I plan on writing much more, too! And I don't want to give away whether it's B/L, or Brad/Naomi, or anything like that, so don't expect me to blurt it out! By the way, the first chapter isn't going to give anything away, so don't expect it. DISCLAIMER: I do not own Zoids. If I did, you'd see another series called "The series made by OC Starabuddy", but you don't, so ah, there you go, I- DO-NOT-OWN-ZOIDS!  
  
  
  
*The waves roll in and out, Runa, the sky sends it's love down to you with the moon and the stars, and the whisper of the night. You know that they'll always be after you no matter how much you do right. But for love, ah, love, that is another matter. The love you seek shall never be found, for you are not one to be loved ~~*  
  
Soft sounds echoed through the cavern's walls. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. There was not a soul down here, there wasn't anything worth looking at down here. He didn't know why Jamie had to send him down here in the first place. Though he had to admit, it was a lot better than lounging around in the hover cargo all day with Leena giving him strange looks. She was playing a joke on him-she had to be.  
  
Several thoughts went through Bit's mind as he explored a strange cavern on Zi. Why there was a cavern on such a deserted area like this, he felt he would never know. He waited for a few seconds taking a quick glance at the end of the cavern. Seeing nothing but a glimpse of a rock wall, he decided to head out. Empty. A waste of his time. He could've spent that time eating cookies or relaxing. Bit Cloud, piloting the Liger 0 of the Blitz team, slowly walked back to the hover cargo, shuffling his feet as he went.  
  
Each of the Class S hover cargo's around the area that the Blitz team was in had been given specific places to stay put for several weeks. A warning had been given out around the area. A very high warning, rating an 8 on a scale to 10. Doc had said it was probably because an unknown Zoid team was intruding the area, making a big fuss with big weapons and such. A group like the Backdraft group.  
  
"So, what do you REALLY think it could be?" Leena asked, with a can of grape soda in one hand. Doc was sitting across from her in the living room of the hover cargo with his Zoid models, Jamie, Brad, and Bit. "I mean, the Backdraft Group? I thought we saw the last of them for a little while."  
  
"Leena, it's been a little while," Doc replied. Jamie and Brad exchanged glances with each other.  
  
"Actually," Jamie began.  
  
"We're quite sure that it has nothing to do with a Zoid group," Brad finished. Bit, Leena, and Doc gave them suspicious looks.  
  
"Well then, what DO you think it is?!" Leena asked, throwing her arms up in frustration. Once again, Jamie and Brad gave each other looks.  
  
"The Cakes."  
  
"The cakes?" Bit asked. "What do cakes have to do with anything? Yeah, they're really good, and I can see why we might have to stay put for a few days because of the shock of the populous when they run out in the market but-"  
  
"No, Bit! They probably don't mean EDIBLE cakes!" Leena shouted.  
  
"Actually, Bit's on the right track. Have any of you ever heard of D-chan the Cake Bandit?" Jamie asked. Bit was taken with shock.  
  
"Cake Bandit? So you mean we have this really big, huge, 3 week delay because of the burglary of a few CAKES!?" he asked, a little angered.  
  
"It's been leading up to a few other things," Brad said. "Since the Cake Bandit first struck, many S-class warriors have been upset, and now that the Cake Bandit is still striking, hitting many warriors of higher classes, it could start something big."  
  
"I hope WE don't get struck." Leena replied. "The Cake Bandit will probably take my cookies!"  
  
"Speaking of cookies." Bit started.  
  
"NO, Bit, stay away from my cookies!" Leena shouted at him. Bit smiled and then saw leaving the redhead's cookies alone as a good idea.  
  
"Bit, you should really check out that cavern again, tonight," Jamie suddenly said. He was a little off topic, but everyone silently forgave him for it.  
  
"Why? There wasn't anything in there when I looked ten minutes ago," Bit replied.  
  
"We have to find the Cake Bandit's hideout so we can take her in. Otherwise, we'll probably be stuck here for another two weeks," Jamie replied.  
  
"I don't know if you're really believing all of this stuff about D-chan the Cake Bandit, but yeah, we'll definitely be here for a few weeks if we don't do something about it," Doc added.  
  
"Well then, I'll give it a more thorough looking-through tonight." Bit replied, disappointed.  
  
  
  
Why couldn't they send Brad? He was perfectly capable of getting the job done. Then again, it would cost a hefty price, for something like this. And there was no WAY Leena would go, so Bit figured he would just have to be the one to get the job done.  
  
The rest of the night went over quite smoothly, doing Zoid repairs and such. Except for the occasional fights between Bit and Leena, of course. By the time 11:30 came, Bit was in a hurry to get out of the hover cargo and back into the cavern. He ran through the hangar one last time before he left to explore the murky cavern he had been in earlier.  
  
Bit had well armed himself just in case the Cake Bandit tried to pull a fast one on him. He had armed himself with a medium-sized hand knife and half a dozen tiny throwing daggers. He thanked God for giving him good aim.  
  
Bit was walking down the same path down the cavern as he was earlier when he began to hear peculiar noises from deeper in the rocky walls. This spooked him.  
  
"It's the Cake Bandit! She knows I'm here!" Bit wailed to himself. He suddenly heard loud feminine screaming from deeper in the cavern.  
  
"Aie! She's. she's killing someone!" Bit wailed again. Then, he listened carefully, to find that it wasn't happening like that.  
  
"Let me go!" the female voice pleaded. Bit strained his ears to hear what sounded surprisingly like a male snigger. He found himself inching closer to the scene, unnoticed.  
  
"Let me go!" she shouted again. Bit hid behind some stalagmites so he could get a view without being seen. Apparently, a young blonde girl had gotten herself into a bit of trouble with a gang of punks, to say it simply. Two guys were holding her in various lock positions while another stood in front of her, rubbing his finger along the blunt edge of his pocketknife.  
  
"Whatever you want, I probably have it! Just let me go, and it's yours!" she cried. Once again, the man in front of her sniggered.  
  
"Girlie, I don't think you could even BEGIN to give me what I want from you!" he said.  
  
"Wha.?" the blonde wondered.  
  
"Just what do you think you're doing down here in this cavern?" he asked.  
  
"I was EXPLORING! What else would I do down here!?" the girl asked. "Now that I've answered, WHAT DO YOU WANT!?"  
  
Now she was pissed. Bit figured if it weren't for the other two men holding her in "touchy" lock positions, she would've torn the one man to pieces by now. She had a sheer violence rating that strongly compared to Leena's.  
  
"Guys," the head man began. This signaled the two others to tighten their lock on the girl. She let out a slight moan of pain and winced. Bit's eyes widened as he bit his lip, watching the main guy snip one of the straps from the girl's green top with his pocketknife. That was enough. He was going to end this, and he was going to end it now.  
  
He casually walked into the scene, unnoticed by all except the girl. She squirmed to get out of the locks, but they only tightened on her. She whimpered again. The first man was about to snip the other strap, when a powerful punch came to him. He shook a little and pointed his knife at Bit.  
  
"You aren't supposed to be here! Mind your own damn business!" he shouted. Bit smirked and pulled out his hand knife.  
  
"Looks like it's my business, now!" he said.  
  
"You bastard! I gave you the chance to get away!" the man yelled. He circled around Bit several times before making his failing move. He lunged forward, only to get stabbed in the chest with a tiny dagger. Bit quickly turned around after pushing the one guy off to see the two other guys hauling the girl into a small Arial Zoid. With his almost perfect aim, he threw a dagger at both of the men. The girl dropped to the ground, trying to gather her senses. Bit ran up to her.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked. He was taken quite aback with the response.  
  
"What do YOU want with me!?" she cried, slowly wiping tears from her reddened face. Bit realized that she had every right to be scared.  
  
"I. I don't want anything," Bit answered. "I just want to help you."  
  
The girl seemed to be a little surprised. She dried her face and took a deep breath of air.  
  
"Help me? Why on Zi would you want to do that?" she asked. Bit cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"Why wouldn't I?" he asked. He had no idea what he had said wrong to make the girl look at him so strangely.  
  
"Everyone's after me-aren't you?" she asked, rather dryly.  
  
"Uh. not unless you're D-chan the Cake Bandit." Bit said.  
  
  
  
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Arizda: Erm. shorter than I wanted it to be. Oh well. Anyway. *in a dramatic announcer voice* Who is this girl wandering in the cavern? Could she possibly be D-chan the Cake Bandit? What will she do to Bit? Will I ever finish chapter two in the same day? Well, we'll find out. ^_^ Please review! I love reviews! And flames are welcome too, because I will use them to toast my marshmallows. : p  
  
~~~ 


	3. Runa

Arizda: Hihi, it's me, Arizda, again! I'm really sorry about the format of the last chapter, I have no idea why it did that. -_- Thing is, I don't know how to fix it either, so of it ends up like that in this chapter, oh well. I guess I'll figure it out sooner or later. Anyway, here's the next chapter, and keep the characters coming, they're great, and they're adding great to the story! Credit will be given at the end of each chapter. And here's the disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN ZOIDS! All but one of the original characters in this chapter are from other people, and they will get credit at the end of the chapter. THANK U!!!  
  
*Chapter 2*  
  
  
  
Bit felt much better when the girl gave him a bright smile. "Thank you so much!" she said. "I'm Arunamei Kirazuna! You can call me. Runa!" She placed her hand out for him to shake. "I'm Bit Cloud," he simply said, shaking her hand. "I'm so glad that you weren't like everyone else whose been trying to kill me!" Runa said, worried. Bit wanted to ask her a number of things, but only one question came out. "Why are they trying to kill you?" Runa smiled, sighed, and then shrugged, wondering how to start. "Basically," she began, "everyone thinks that I'm D-chan the Cake Bandit." Bit began to lose his trust for Runa. "Umm. why?" he asked. "Because, I just so happen to be at the scenes at the wrong times, y'know? Now I have practically EVERYONE on my tail, even the ones who have no idea who the hell D-chan is! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Runa shouted, her voice getting shaky. Bit had an idea, but felt strange asking about it. "Runa, um. after this, do you have a-I mean, where are you gonna go?" he asked. Runa gave him a strange look. "Why? What's it to ya!?" she asked, feeling as though Bit were invading on her privacy. "I was just wondering, because if you didn't have anywhere to go-" "I'm fine, Bit; my Zoid is just beyond the cavern's mushroom grove. I'm right next to a little freshwater spring, and I'm pretty sure I have enough provisions," Runa insured him. Bit was slightly impressed when he heard "Zoid". "Can I see your Zoid?" he asked. "Umm." Runa began, gnawing on her fingernails. "It doesn't like strangers." "Well, what do you mean, 'It doesn't like strangers'?" Bit asked. He thought that the Liger 0 was the only Zoid that could act like that. "Well, I mean, it. well. um, y'see, this is hard to explain, really." Runa said. Bit sighed. "Well, since everyone's after you, like you said, are you gonna be okay?" he asked. Runa smiled. "Bit, if you're gonna be THAT worried about me, just touch the glyph at the dead end of the cavern to check up on me," Runa replied. "I don't unders-" "I guess I'll see ya some other time!" she said, smiling and running off. There was a brief moment of silence. "Great. I save a chick and this is what I get in return." Bit muttered to himself, beginning to walk out of the cavern.  
  
  
  
"So, whadja find?" Jamie asked Bit, who was sprawled out across the couch of the living room in the hover cargo. "Oh, nothing important," he began as Brad and Leena seated themselves. "Just some crazy girl who isn't D-chan the Cake Bandit." "Well then, who was she?" Leena asked. "She was just. I dunno, some girl," Bit answered. Brad gave him a somewhat piercing look. "Do you understand that what she could've told you was PROBABLY A LIE?!" he shouted. Bit gave off a blank look. "Uh. ooh, hey, y'know what's cool? I killed these three guys trying to kill her!" he said. "Bit you just let the Cake Bandit get away!" Jamie wailed. "Sshhh, you guys, my dad is still asleep.!" Leena hushed. "How could you believe what she told you!? I bet you anything that she was the Cake Bandit!" Jamie said. Leena shoved Brad and Jamie out of the room. "Ah, Bit, don't listen to them. I believe you!" she said. That was different. Support from Leena. Bit liked it, though. He was surprised, but grateful that someone thought he did okay.  
  
  
  
Runa walked to the dead end of the cavern, water and condensation dripping from the ceiling. At the dead end, there was a large glyph on the wall. It was in the form of a diamond, and was outlined and contained many strange symbols. She just barely touched it, and the wall instantly turned into a block of solid gel. Runa walked through it, coming out on the other end completely dry. "Ah, so I see you're back, Wanted Princess!" Runa quickly scanned the large cavern room she was in to find the captor of the sarcastic voice. "Yeah, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!? I was in a hella big mess a few minutes ago! Where were you!?" she shouted, having found who she was looking for. He was a man in his early twenties with short, dark brown hair, and eyes of a faded brown. His hair was partially covered in grease, however, since he was working on his Zoid-a Lightning Saix, modified with heavy armor, and the black color on the Zoid was replaced with white. "Is that so, Wanted Princess?" he asked, getting ready to get up. "Shut up. Quit calling me that," Runa replied, making her way around her "partner's" Zoid. "Lewis, WHO ARE THEY!?!?" The man sighed heavily. "Uh. y'see, Runa, I was going to tell you about them, sooner or later, honestly!" Lewis said. Runa came running out from behind his Lightning Saix and stopped. She only gave him a sharp look, not daring to mess with someone who was eight and a half years older than she was. "Mr. Carson, YOU CARE TO EXPLAIN!?" Runa shouted as two others stepped out behind her. One was rather short with messy black hair, brown eyes, and a wide smile on his face, while the other one had long black and red hair, and a visor that covered the upper half of her face. "Yeah. yeah, I will," Lewis said. He scratched the back of his head, dropped his wrench, and sighed. By this time, he was standing next to Runa, in front of the other two strangers. "This young one is Ulrich der Ludner. He was kinda clueless as to where to go. I talked him into joining the alliance tomorrow morning," Lewis started. "Hi, I'm Runa," she said, curtly. "Hi! You can call me Ricky!" he replied, his hands on the straps of his overalls. Runa nodded. "What kind of a Zoid do you pilot?" she asked. "A Rev Raptor with a harpoon gun. I saw yours! It's cool!" Ulrich replied, grinning. Runa smirked. "And this is Miyuki Hinasaki," Lewis said. "Hinasaki Miyuki," she cut him off sharply. "Yeah, but y'see, her first name is Miyuki," Lewis told Runa. "I know. It's a name thingy, Lewis, and when you pronounce it, you're SUPPOSED to say the last name first. Like, you would be Carson Lewis." Runa turned to Miyuki. "Anyway, I'm Runa." She was given silence. It was a few moments before Miyuki said anything to her. "My name means 'Red Winter'," she replied. "Good, good, you're speaking. What kind of Zoid do you pilot?" Runa asked. "A custom." "Hm. ooookay. Well, I'm going to eat and go to bed. Who else wants to eat?" Runa asked. Lewis just went silent and went back to working on his Lightning Saix, while Miyuki walked off to find privacy within her own Zoid. "Well, then, Ricky, I suppose a midnight dinner is only for us, eh?" Runa asked. Ulrich came running over by her side as she walked to a little freshwater spring. "Guess so!" he said. He looked up and marveled at the sight that stood in the spring. A beautiful black and shimmering blue Zoid stood on all fours in the water. "This is my Zoid. The Berserker Midnight Land Marlin. I know, it's a long name for a Zoid, but that's what I named her, because I built her. after a long five years! Heh, then I had to make one for my little brother. You remind me of him," Runa replied. Ulrich smiled. "You'd better like fish, because that's all that's on the menu." "Don't worry, I like fish. I'll eat just about anything," Ricky said. "Goodie," Runa responded. She ran into the water and climbed into the cockpit of her Zoid. She fished around for a box under the seat. She opened it to find several fishing spears inside. "Midnight, open the cockpit," Runa said. There was a small roar of approval, and the cockpit opened. Runa scanned the spring for the silhouette of a large fish. She soon saw the perfect fish swimming around her Zoid's tail. The threw the spear at it as hard as she could. "You got it! Wow, that was good aiming!" Ricky shouted to her. Runa smirked as she jumped down from her Zoid, which she called "Midnight". "Thanks, Midnight!" she replied. The Zoid gave a roar in response. Ricky presented the speared fish to Runa. "Great! Now, we just toast it over a fire and then we have dinner. I don't have any condiments on me, though. sorry about that." "That's okay," Ulrich said.  
  
  
  
About an hour later, Ulrich and Runa had finished the fish off completely, and were swapping stories to each other. "So, how do you know Lewis?" Ricky asked. "Well, back at the alliance, I was given a partner to protect me when I was sent out on missions away from the alliance. So that's his job. He has to make sure that I'm brought back safely," Runa answered. "Ah, so you ARE like a Wanted Princess!" Ricky laughed. "Princess? Nah. More like a 15-year-old boss-like figure, if I do say so myself. I'm big on the ranks. Each time Lewis becomes a successful bodyguard-like partner, then we'll both move up in rank. When I move up in rank, so does my team. When other members in my team move up in rank, we go along with them," Runa explained. "Oh yeah, and what's the alliance?" Ricky asked.  
  
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Arizda: Yes indeedy! What IS the alliance? And is Runa really D-chan the Cake Bandit? What will happen in the next chapter? And. was there the beginning of romance in this chapter? Is it B/OC or B/L? Or is it NOT the beginning of romance? Lol, I haven't even started the romance, that's still to come in future chapters ^_^ . Keep those reviews coming! And I'm always open for suggestions! E-mail: Quikko@survivormail.com AIM: OCStarbuddy Neopets: quikko Xandorra's Place (forum (dollz rule!)): Orlah Chronoshock Forum: Orlha-chan  
  
~~~Arizda / OCStarbuddy 


	4. The Alliance

Arizda: Hi, it's just lil' ole me, again! Hope you don't mind me popping up before and after each chapter. I just want to thank the people that gave me characters to use, like Death Ringer, and Jakob der Ludner (sorry if I got spelling wrong on anything, I tend to do that occasionally). You've been a great help, and just remember-I'M ALWAYS OPEN FOR SUGGESTIONS! ^_^ My writing program is screwed up right now, but I'm trying to do something about the format-I apologize for that. By the way, you can submit more than one character, lol. ^_^ Anyway, one of my famous lines that I haven't said yet-ON WIT DA FICCY!!!  
  
  
  
~~~ Chapter Three ~~~  
  
"Okay, so let me get this straight..." Runa started, sitting down on the cavern ground with Ricky after a hefty meal of fish. She hugged her knees. "You bargained to sign up with the alliance in return for a place to stay, yet you don't even know what it is?" she finished.  
  
"Well.. yeah, that's pretty much how it is," Ricky said. Runa sighed and shook her head. "What? What is it? You're going to tell me, right?"  
  
"Yeah, I kinda guess that I have no choice, otherwise, you could be making a decision that you could regret. The alliance is.. well, it's a.... well, it's a group."  
  
"Uh. what kind of a group?" Ricky asked. He hoped he had made a good decision by joining this "alliance".  
  
"The Alliance takes in only the most skilled Zoid pilots and divides them up into teams. I belong on the Star Team, for example. And, when you sign up, they might put you on the Slumberloggin (*) Team. It all depends on your skill, and where the team name stands on the Scale of Rank. Rank is a big thing in The Alliance. What we're doing right now is starting a separate colony on a different planet. The planet has precious metals that could be used to make weapons and armor for Zoids, and we think that it could be extremely successful if the entire mission series goes right. We're hoping to get a lot of good recruits. I was here in part to gather a few Zoid parts. Luckily I got them," Runa explained.  
  
"Wow. so then, The Alliance could be a real messy thing to be tangled up in, huh?" Ricky asked. Runa nodded.  
  
"But don't think of it as a bad thing. That's not what it is. Or, at least that's not what it was meant to be..." she replied.  
  
"HEY! You didn't save any for us!?" came the loud voice of Lewis. Runa turned to face her bodyguard.  
  
"Hey, you weren't around when it was offered. 'Tis not my fault!" she replied. She saw Miyuki standing behind Lewis, and heard her silently say a few words in disgust, then walked away to once again find peace to herself.  
  
"What's up with her?" Ricky asked.  
  
"I dunno-think I should go talk to her?" Runa asked. Lewis stopped her before she could stand up.  
  
"Naw, naw, don't do that, you always break up a big scene when you do stuff like that!" he said. Runa gave him a strange look.  
  
"And what's THAT supposed to mean?!" she shouted. Lewis sighed and threw his arms up in frustration.  
  
"Fine, do what you like. It won't be my fault when she shoots your brains out," he replied.  
  
"HONESTLY, Lewis, what are you talking about?" Runa sighed, walking back to where the rest of the Zoids were placed.  
  
~~*~~  
  
Leena rubbed her sleepy violet eyes and yawned as she stumbled to get up from her bed. She wrapped her light lemon-yellow robe around her tired body as she reached for the doorknob. She knew that someone wasn't asleep, and it was bugging her. She walked out of the hover cargo to find a certain someone lying on top of the Liger 0, staring up at the stars, while trying to go to sleep.  
  
"Bit, would you just go to sleep, already?!" Leena shouted. She stared at Bit, who was just lounging, in long black pants and a T-shirt.  
  
"I can't." he said quite simply. He didn't bother to look down at her. Leena rushed her hands through her choppy red hair. Why wouldn't he listen to her? What could she shout at him that would change his mind?  
  
"YOU'RE the one who's gonna be hurtin' in the morning!" she shouted without much thought. Bit looked down at her.  
  
"I wouldn't have bothered if I thought that to be a big concern, Leena," he replied. She started to get a little pissed.  
  
"DON'T ACT THAT WAY AROUND ME! Don't act like you know what's better! Get to bed, DAMMIT!" she fumed. This extremely shook Bit, and he instantly jumped off of the Liger 0 and returned to the hover cargo.  
  
"Come on, Liger!" he commanded, scared that Leena might be staring him down, by now. But in fact, she was smirking as she watched him lead Liger back into the hangar, and then marched back into his own room. She had been quietly following him when she became startled.  
  
"Why are you following me like that?" he asked. She was shocked. He, who had just been walking ever so casually to his room, had known that she had been doing her best to keep her footsteps eerily quiet.  
  
"I'm.. I'm not! I'm just going to bed!" she replied.  
  
"But. it's the opposite way, Leena," Bit said, tossing his head in the direction of her room. He realized that he had pissed Leena off again.  
  
"I KNOW THAT!" she shouted, stomping off. Bit sighed as he watched his short-fused, fiery-haired, female friend return to her room. A sight she was.  
  
*~~----..______________________________________________..----~~*  
  
"Time to rise and SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII---IIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!!"  
  
A young boy of around 12 years of age tossed around in his bed. He moaned before hearing the female voice scream his name.  
  
"KASHIE! WAKE UP, DAMMIT!"  
  
"Damn," the boy whispered as he purposely rolled out of bed. He stood up and blinked at himself in the mirror with his blue eyes. "Heh, cool, it took care of itself, again," he muttered, referring to his extremely messy black hair. Black, messy, and spiky. Just the way he liked it. He yawned again before hearing another off-the-charts scream.  
  
"KASH, HURRY UP, ALREADY!!!!"  
  
The boy quickly dressed in a dark green T-shirt, and dark brown jeans. He poured a bit of water on his hand from a glass on his night table and splashed it on his face before facing a large console. On the console, fish-type Zoids swam in random patterns against a dark, bubbly backdrop-the cutest screensaver the computer had to offer. The boy pressed a button on the computer, setting the screensaver off.  
  
"There you are! I was beginning to think that we were gonna be stranded!" came a female voice. The boy looked up at the screen to see the face of his sister-a blonde girl around the age of 15, with her hair up in a high ponytail. They had the same beautiful blue eyes. This girl was his sister.  
  
"Why would you be stranded, Runa? I mean, you and Lewis DO have your Zoids, don't you? Unless you were struck practically dead in battle, I don't see the problem," the boy replied.  
  
"Well, Kashie, y'see. Lewis picked up a few people. and. eh-heh-heh-heh. umm." Runa started. Kashie gave her a serious look. "You just aren't getting the full meaning of what I'm trying to say, do you?"  
  
"I think I get it. One of the people he picked up is a killer, right? Am I right? Is this all? Because if it is-"  
  
"IT COULD BE, KASH! I dunno, but I just have this strange feeling... but anyway, we have someone new for The Alliance. His ID# is 5458123454," Runa replied.  
  
"Heh, sounds more like a phone number," Kashie replied. This made Runa reply back to him with a "hm."  
  
"You're right. it does. Oh well, that's the number, and sign him up. He's coming in with Lewis and I this afternoon," Runa said. "We're going to test his skills. I'm guessing that he's gonna get placed with the Slumberloggin (*) Team. I mean, they've been looking for another pilot for who knows how long. right?"  
  
"Yeah. They're a good team, too. Well, since you probably need my help, with that so-called 'killer' around, should Dalanette and I come 'escort' you and Lewis back to The Alliance?" Kashie asked.  
  
"Hell, bring D if you wanted to! I don't.. I just don't trust that other girl! She seems so... out there, y'know?" Runa asked.  
  
"Yeah. I get it. Well, I gotta go, Miss Jamanie wants me to study some more. She says that while you're not around, I have to be at the consoles, and you know how much of a burden that is on me!" Kashie snapped.  
  
"Well. Kashie, I'm sorry, but you know that since I've started moving up in the ranks-I-I just have too many missions, and I'm lucky if I even have enough time to put together my reports! I already have a full team, but I'm getting the hardest missions put on me, Kash! I'm trying as hard as I can, and I'm sorry if I can't always be there!" Runa shouted. She received only a cold glance from Kashie before the screen went blank. She frowned heavily before she realized Miyuki was standing by her side.  
  
"If you're that afraid of me, why don't you just let me get it over with and shoot you?" she asked. Runa looked up at her and quickly folded up the folding console screen and placed it back in the butt of her vertically-stacked three-barrel gun. She slightly gritted her teeth. "I need places to stay with. The only problem is, everyone always DIES!" she shouted.  
  
"What did I do?!" Runa asked immediately. Miyuki sighed.  
  
"Never mind," she replied, spinning her gun around with her fingers, then returning to her Zoid. Runa bit her finger.  
  
"What am I gonna do? With her hanging around, I'm HELLA likely to get killed! Not good, not good, not good for a Wanted Princess." she mumbled.  
  
~~^-*****************-^~~  
  
Arizda: Yes, this is the end of the chapter! What is to become of Runa? Miyuki? Lewis? Ricky? Will the Blitz team end up catching D-chan the Cake Bandit? Is The Alliance tied in with the Cake Bandit? Will Arizda ever pull this fic together? Hehe, you betcha! ^_^ THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT, READERS! And I'll say the disclaimer thing again, since I think I should do that about every for or five chapters: I DO NOT OWN ZOIDS! Miyuki is the original character of Death Ringer, Lewis being the original character of wolfkcing, and Ricky / Ulrich being the original character of Jakob der Ludner! MUCHO THANKIES FOR YOUR CHARACTERS, GUYS! And don't forget, it's never too late to submit more! ^_^ Thanks again! Oh, and btw.  
  
(*) Slumberloggin: Just a random word that my good ole friend D-chan made up for me to use! ^__^ THANKS D-CHAN! Expect to see her in future chapters!  
  
~~~ Arizda / OCStarbuddy 


	5. Cake!

Arizda: Hihi, it's me again! I hope this chapter is to your likings, because I wasn't sure how good this would come out. ^_^ And on top of that, I've been doing a lot of running around and never got the chance to finish writing this. :D Oh well, thanks for all of the characters and reviews, everyone, I feel so happy! *pats herself on the back* Well, here it is! And if your character isn't in this chapter, it's just because they're probably going to get a surprise entrance, or a super-duper dramatic entrance, or an entrance that is somewhere, deeper into the plot. But don't worry, they'll be there! Remember, I said that I would take ALL CHARACTERS! :)  
  
~~~___~~~___~~~___~~~___~~~___~~~  
  
  
  
As Runa sat on the ground, hugging her knees, being paranoid, Lewis approached her, with a sleepy look on his face, yawning, and stretching his arms.  
  
  
"What's got you up all in a knot, this early, Runa?" he asked.  
  
  
"Grrr......... WHY ARE WE STILL HERE WITH THAT MAD CHICK!? She's gonna KILL us, Lewis!" Runa whined. Lewis replied with a "pfffftt".  
  
  
"Miyuki? Nah, she couldn't harm a fly........."  
  
  
-BAM!-  
  
  
It happened. She harmed something. After the loud *bam*, a shout was heard. Runa looked upa t Lewis's surprised face with anger.  
  
  
"Couldn't harm a FLY, huh?! Well, NOW look what she's done!" she wailed in horror. She ran as fast as she could back behind the Lightning Saix to see two other Zoids--Ricky's Rev Raptor, and Miyuki's horse-like Zoid, the Setsunakute Ii. Next to the Rev Raptor was Ricky, clutching his left arm, dark red blood pumping from the fresh bullet wound. Next to the other Zoid was Miyuki, holding a pistol in her hand. Immediately, as if on instinct, Runa pulled out her vertically-stacked three-short-barrel gun and aimed it at Miyuki.  
  
  
"DON'T MOVE!" she shouted, her hands shaking. Miyuki turned to Runa and smirked. Her gun was then aimed at Lewis. Runa bit her lilp so hard, she could taste the bitterness of blood flowing into her mouth. "Lewis, if we ever pull this one off, we're taking her in to have her questioned. She's obviously against us, and she must know that we're with the Alliance," she muttered to her partner.  
  
  
"I'm surprised that you have not seen more trouble like me! I want information, and I want it now!" Miyuki shouted.  
  
  
"Information about WHAT!?" Runa asked. Miyuki gritted her teeth.  
  
  
"Shut up!" she snapped to a slightly whimpering and sniffling Ricky. "You know what I want! The Alliance knows about The Star Confederation, right?" Miyuki asked, harshly. Runa went blank. The Star Confederation? What was that supposed to be?  
  
  
"I honestly haev no idea what you're talking about!" Runa replied. Miyuki sighed and tightened her grip on her pistol. She glanced at Ricky, who had eyes that were just waiting to let out tears of pain. Then, she saw something move behind her, but before she could turn around, she felt a great wave of pain, and then all went black.  
  
  
Runa gasped when she saw the two figures that were standing behind Miyuki.  
  
  
"Bit!" she shouted. She saw the other, older man that he was with bend down and pick Miyuki up. "W-where did you come from?"  
  
  
"Well......... last night, you said that all I had to do was touch the glyph on the dead end wall to check up on y ou. I finally understood, and I took Brad with me to come and see if you were okay. Heh, I guess you got yourself into trouble again, huh?" Bit asked.  
  
  
"Yeah! Thank you again! That's two that I owe you!" Runa replied. Lewis began to understand something.  
  
  
"Ooooooohhhh......... so you're saying th at you owe him two, huh? Then HE must've been the one that saved your wanted ass last night, eh?" he asked. Brad's eyes began to narrow as he grew impatient, seeing Runa casually nod to Lewis's question.  
  
  
"Listen, if ya don't mind--"  
  
  
Once again, there was a loud BAM. This time, it wasn't from Miyuki, but instead, another, younger matriarch voice could be heard coming from the cockpit of a large, penguin Zoid. The loud BAM was from the entrance that it made with several other Zoids. A large hole was now placed in the cavern walls, which slowly began to crumble.   
  
  
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! I am D-CHAN THE CAKE BANDIT! Give me all your cakes before I cause you to trip over a cordless phone or bump into a fire extinguisher!!! Doing these actions myself has GIVEN ME THE POWER!!!!!!"  
  
  
"Oh my fucking god........." Lewis said under his breath.  
  
  
"Uh......... ahem...... uhhhh......... errr...... nevermind........." Bit muttered.  
  
  
"WHAT!?!?!!?!??? WHAT WAS THAT!?!? WERE you gonna DARE yourself to SPEAK TO D-CHAN THE CAKE BANDIT!? STARBUDDY PENGUIN, LET'S TAKE THE CAKE!!!"  
  
  
The voice was coming from a huge penguin-type Zoid (as was stated before) with a star in the center of it's head. Two other Zoids stood by it--one was a red, orange, and white Spinosaurus-type Zoid with a long and dangerous-looking tail, and the second one being a black panther-type Zoid, with large purple armor and two deadly particle cannons.  
  
  
"Always at the fucking wrong times........." Lewis muttered again. Bit began to go somewhat crazy.  
  
  
"T-t-t-t-t-the CAKE BANDIT!" he shouted. "SEEEEEEEE? I TOLD you Runa wasn't the Cake Bandit!" he told Brad, who only sighed and gently laid Miyuki on the ground.  
  
  
"WOOO HOOOO! ALL RIGHT, D-CHAN!" Runa cheered. She figured that her little squirt of a brother hand come through, after all. She ran past the others in her way to grab Ricky, and th en ran to her Zoid and helped him get in. "Okay, you're coming with me!"  
  
  
"Where is everyone going!??" Bit asked, watching Lewis jump into his heavily modified Lightning Saix.  
  
  
"Wanna follow 'em?" Brad asked.  
  
  
"I suppose this means she's tagging along?" Bit asked, referring to the presently unconscious Hinasaki Miyuki.  
  
  
"We'll probably have to turn her in for interrogation when she wakes, though. She's......... a lot dangerous than I expected, Bit!" Brad replied. "Here, YOU take her. The Liger is more roomier than the Shadow Fox."  
  
  
"No!" Bit snapped, jumping at least two feet away from Brad. "YOU take her!" he demanded. Brad glared at him with his icy blue stare and gave a heavy sigh.   
  
  
"This is gonna cost you," he said silently. Miyuki was heaved into his arms and carried to the Shadow Fox. Before getting into the Fox himself, he glanced at Runa, who was trying her best to carry the wounded Ricky into the Berserker Midnight Land Marlin. Then he heard the roar of the Liger 0, and quickly jumped into Shadow Fox.   
  
  
"OI! Bit, and......... uh, Bit's friend, where are you off to with Miyuki?!" Runa shouted. Bit sighed as the face of Arunamei in the Land Marlin showed up in front of him.  
  
  
"I don't know WHY you would care, since you're baddies yourself! We're taking her in, and then we're gonna take you in, next!" Brad shouted.  
  
  
"Wha!? Nonononono!" Runa shouted, obviously misunderstood. "We AREN'T BADDIES! D just has to make a name for herself! She doesn't actually... steal cakes! Uh, yeah! Y'see--"  
  
  
"Runa, we gotta go, there's really no time for this!" shouted a young voice. Just a second later, another younger face appeared in front of Bit's face. It was the face of Runa's younger brother, Kashie.  
  
  
"But Kash--"  
  
  
"Dalanette's even going on about how we gotta be back at The Alliance!" Kashie shouted. "And ya KNOW that this mission was a failure, so--"  
  
  
"Nananana!? No, this mission was a SUCCESS, Kash! Don't you get it!? I got what I came for, and I intend to--"  
  
  
"Not only has Lewis failed to protect everyone at the scene, we've been MORE than discovered, and a spy almost figured out what was going on!" came the voice of who Bit guessed must've been Dalanette. She had short black hair, almost down to her shoulders, and peircing purple eyes, peircing like Brad's. Bit watched Runa grit her teeth and grip the controls of her Zoid so hard her knuckles turned white.  
  
  
"Listen, I didn't fail my mission! I got the parts, Ricky was wounded BEFORE he was registered into The Alliance, and Miyuki didn't get any information! So I don't see the problem!" she shouted. "And we're coming back for the Rev Raptor and the Setsunakute Ii as soon as we can!" With that said, she pushed the controls forward. Everyone watched her dash off at incredible speeds, back to The Alliance. She was soon stopped, however.  
  
  
"OKAY, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!? I've been WAITING FOR THREE HOURS! I expect a pretty DAMN GOOD EXPLANATION!"  
  
  
.........  
  
  
Leena.  
  
  
"Shit...... we had a curfew?" Brad asked Bit.  
  
  
"Leena was waiting for us! That's right, remember? She told us to be back in half an hour to pick her up from the ruins next to the base!" Bit replied.  
  
  
"Too late to whine about things now, Leena is Leena, we can't stay to argue!" Brad said. Runa was now extremely enraged.  
  
  
"Lewis, DID YOU NOT HEAR WHAT MIYUKI SAID ABOUT THE STAR CONFEDERATION!? SHE is the only one that we know who knows what that is! WE need to question her, dammit! HAND HER OVER!!!" she shouted.  
  
  
"Uh......... sorry, that's a no can do," Bit replied.  
  
  
"And why is that?" Runa asked, trying to keep her calm.  
  
  
"BECAUSE WE NEED TO GET GOING!! THAT'S why!!!" Leena shouted. She was just ICHING to shoot something down with her GunSniper.  
  
  
"Fine then, be that way! I'm not leaving you guys until I figure out what Miyuki has to say about the confederation!" Runa replied. Brad folded his arms.  
  
  
"Is that what you think?" he asked. He wanted to laugh so bad at the way he was making Runa tick. She glared back at him.  
  
  
"Yes, that is exactly what I tend to do!" she shouted. She folded HER arms and gave Brad the hardest stare she could give at the moment. He gave her a slight smirk. "Why are you smirking like that? HUH!? I AM GONNA STAY WITH YOU UNTIL I GET THE INFORMATION THAT I NEED!"  
  
  
"Uh, Runa, maybe it's better if we--"  
  
  
"Ooooohoho, no, I am gonna STICK to my word, and I'm gonna stick to it like some damn sticky glue!" Runa said. And that was the end of her words.  
  
  
"Well, where do you expect us to go?" D-chan asked.  
  
  
"Yeah, what do you want us to do? We aren't responsible for your reports, y'know," Lewis replied.  
  
  
"What do you mean?! You guys are on my fuckin' team, of COURSE you're responsible for it! Unfortunately, I can't quite attend to this one, so that means that you guys get to! Err......... Lewis, you get to!" Runa said.  
  
  
  
***---_______________________________________________---***  
  
  
  
Arizda: Oii! How was that? ^_^ Adding more characters, still! And I'm listening to Linkin Park's new CD! Whee! I think I'm in the mood to write another chapter! ^o^ :O Please tell me how ya like this and how it's coming along. Personally, I'm quite happy. I think all of the characters are very kewl, too! ^___^ Thanks to all of u and a bunch of KUDO BARS! :D v_v O yes, and btw, I don't own Zoids, so don't sue. I own Runa and her Zoid. I think that's it. : p Dalanette, Kashie, everyone else, they're all propertay of someone else. ^_____________^ Thanx ya'all! 


	6. I followed

Arizda: Yessiree, it's just lil' ole me! I r ready for the next chapter, r U? Well, here it is! I'm away from my home in CA at the moment, visiting grandparents in Nevada. :) So, I have lots and lots of time to write, I hope. I guess...... yea. Okay, well, here it is, the NEXT CHAPTER! Oh yes......  
  
Disclaimer: Zoids I own not, Kudo Bars I own not, and the only original character that I OWN in here is Runa and her Zoid, oik? Oik.  
  
.:;;;:;;;:;;;^^^^^^^^^^^;;;:;;;:;;;:.  
  
  
  
  
Leena couldn't BELIEVE what she was hearing. She began to giggle slightly, staring up at the screen in front of her to look at the faces of Brad, Bit, Runa, Kashie, and D-chan.  
  
  
"Staying with us, huh? Is that so? You really think you can do that?" she asked, trying to stay as calm as she could. Bit and Brad knew that she was going to fire up, some time.   
  
  
"Yes! I REALLY DO think I can do that! And if you really do have a problem with that, then for all of the Kudo Bars in the world, dammit, you can shoot the hell outta me!" Runa replied. Leena smirked.  
  
  
"Oh, really?" she asked.  
  
  
"Leena, wait, before you decide to totally mutilate everyone with the guns n' stuff, consider what she's saying! She does have a good point! I mean, Miyuki does have some information that she needs, and she's never gonna get it if we don't let her stay for a little while..." Bit replied.  
  
  
"Bit, are you crazy!?" Leena asked.  
  
  
"Agreed, you must be crazy, Bit. For all WE know, The Alliance could be some really evil... evil group!" Brad added.  
  
  
"But we DON'T know... and I betcha ANYTHING that Doc does! Yus! We take Miyuki and Runa over to Doc! Runa's story will probably check out!" Bit said.  
  
  
"Ah-huh... you sure think that it's gonna be that way, don't you? If my dad DOESN'T know a thing about The Alliance, then she'll probably kill us!" Leena shouted. There was a brief pause. "Naaaaaaaaa... Bit, I don't know why I'm doing this, but... yeah, okay, bring her in..."   
  
  
"What?!" Brad shouted. He felt totally abandoned. His ego had just gotten the biggest dent possible. Him, being the oldest one piloting a Zoid at the scene, had just been dumped with his intentions. Then he remembered--Miyuki was inside HIS Shadow Fox. "Hah..." he replied. "Catch me... if... you can!" he said smugly, and then threw the controls forward as far as they would go, causing the Fox to thrust foward, and dart away at incredible speeds.  
  
  
"No! Wait, Brad! What the hell do you think you're going!?!?" Bit shouted.  
  
  
"Nooooooo! How could he just... bla... DO THAT WHEN MAJORITY RULES THE VOTE?!" Leena whined. "Now we'll never catch him! He's practically got the fastest Zoid there is! Maybe you can catch up to him, Bit!"   
  
  
"Naw, there's no way I'd be able to catch him, now..." Bit mumbled. Leena and Bit both heard slight giggles from a few of the other Zoid pilots.  
  
  
"They have no idea how fast we are!" Kashie sniggered.  
  
  
"I know. Your Zoid is the fastest here. Go get 'em, boy!" Runa giggled. She watched Kashie and his red, orange, and white custom Zoid--the Slashback Spino--get ready to take off. The Slashback Spino balanced on one strong leg as several boosters lit up on it's back beside the sail of spines. Then, it gave a little jump, and raced away, chasing after the already just-a-little-black-dot-running-towards-the-horizon Shadow Fox. It was incredibly fast. It was so fast, it just about became a blur going after the Fox. It had cornered him between a few tall boulders in less than two minutes. The downfall was that Kashie's Slashback Spino was poorly armed. Speed it's strong point, everything else being a weakness. He had decided to ditch every other chance of having a strong point just to increase the speed so friggin' much. He DID have a few trick's up his sleeve, however.   
  
  
"They aren't going to FIGHT, are they?" Dalanette asked, quite worried.  
  
  
"If they do... Kashie's gonna lose, big time," D replied.  
  
  
"Well, this wasn't quite my intention... fighting, no, winning however, a big fat yes. But if he wins... Bit's got one sorry-ass pilot on his team..." Runa said.  
  
  
"So, what's it gonna be?" Kashie asked, his Slashback Spino dancing back and forth.  
  
  
"Whaddoya mean, 'what's it gonna be'? I'm NOT gonna get *beaten* by a 12-year-old, I'm not handing Miyuki over, and there's no way that Runa's gonna stick around with us!" Brad shouted. Kashie smirked.  
  
  
"Fine, be that way. I see how it is," he said. It didn't take long for the sail of spines on the back of the Slashback Spino to charge and flare up. This acted as a warning. "Just so you know, this attack will NOT settle for light damage on that pretty-lookin' Shadow Fox of yours!" he added.  
  
  
"So I guessed. The Shadow Fox won't take it easy on YOUR ugly-ass Zoid, either!" Brad said, bitterly. Kashie narrowed his left eye.  
  
  
"Okay, FINE! I GAVE you the chance to get away unharmed!" he shouted. In an instant, the tons of charged spines on the back of the Spino shot forth and exploded on impact with the Shadow Fox.   
  
  
"KASH! What are you DOING?! I didn't say FIGHT for her! She can't be THAT important! Geez!" Runa shouted. "Get back here, we're going back to The Alliance!" On his sister's command, Kashie rocketed back to the scene, leaving the heavily damaged Shadow Fox to do something on its own.  
  
  
"But, I thought you wanted to stay," Bit replied. Leena wanted to tell him to cut it out, for she hated to death the thought of Runa bunking with them until Miyuki woke and was questioned. But she also wanted to agree with him 100%, and she didn't know why, so she just did.  
  
  
"Y...y-yeah..." she added.  
  
  
"Well, if it's no problem with you guys, sure!" Runa replied with a wide smile. Bit was a little happier that she was all cheery again.  
  
  
"Come on, Leena, let's go see if Brad's okay," Bit replied, turning to his fiery female friend in a GunSniper. She followed him to the site where the Shadow Fox was getting up, and dusting the desert sand from it's insides.   
  
  
"That damn kid... I'm gonna shoot him down, one of these days, real soon. You just watch me," Brad replied bitterly as Bit and Leena came his way. "And you aren't seriously thinking of letting her stay with us, are you?"  
  
  
"Actually... I was quite serious," Bit said, a little slowly. Why was everyone so shocked that he wanted Runa to hang around? "I mean, if we aren't going to hand Miyuki over to them, and if they need the info, what else is there to do?" he asked.  
  
  
"SHOOT THEM!? TELL THEM TO GO AWAY!? Pfffft, sometimes... sometimes, Bit, you're just a little--" Brad started, but was quickly interrupted by Leena.  
  
  
"Off the hook," she finished. "Err, a LOT off the hook, is what he was supposed to say..."  
  
  
"Tch, more like a little fuckin' CRAZY!" Brad shouted, wanting to strangle his blonde partner. Bit frowned.  
  
  
"Lighten up, Brad," were the only words he cold manage to say.   
  
  
"Ooooh... Bit, I have a feeling that was one of the wrong things to say... hehe... yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahh..." Leena muttered to him. The two had jumped out of their Zoids, and were walking towards the other scene, when Brad jumped from the open cockpit of the Shadow Fox and onto Bit.  
  
  
"YOU want ME to LIGHTEN UP!? LIGHTEN UP, YOU SAY!?!? YOU try being the only one with MORE THAN HALF A BRAIN on this team!" Brad shouted. He was on top of him on the ground, now, shaking him by his collar. Bit tried to hide behind his collar and looked up at Brad with his eeeeeeeerily bright green eyes, which showed fright. But, it wasn't BRAD he was afraid of. He glanced to the side of Brad's shoulder to see a fuming mad fiery redhead standing behind him. He made a little whimper.  
  
  
"YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HARD IT IS LOOKING AFTER A BUNCH OF BIMBOS!" Brad shouted. He was sure he could hear Runa laughing her head off in the distance.   
  
  
"BIMBOS, he says, bimbos!" Runa laughed.  
  
  
"WHO'RE YOU CALLIN' A BIMBO!?" Leena shouted, rolling up her already short sleeves, getting ready to punch Brad in the face, right where he deserves it.  
  
  
"Oooooh my God, this is just too freakin' funny, watching their team fall apart," Runa replied to Ricky, who was in a little less pain, now.  
  
  
______________-=======================================-_______________  
  
  
  
The Liger 0 had gotten quite fed up watching the Blitz Team tear each other apart, so he decided to walk back to the Hover Cargo, Runa and Midnight following. Leena just beat the crap outta Brad for beating the crap outta Bit, while Bit just let the crap get beaten out of him. Kashie, Dalanette, D-chan, and Lewis just went back to The Alliance, taking Ricky with them.  
  
  
  
  
  
Jamie was at the stove in the kitchen of the Hover Cargo, cooking random dinner-foods while Doc messed around with his Zoid models. He ignored the peculiar noises from the hangar, thinking it was just the return of the remainder of the team. However, a few moments passed, and Bit, Brad, and Leena never walked in.   
  
  
"Doc," Jamie replied, "did you hear the noises from the hangar?" he asked. Doc stopped flying his toy Pteras around in the air and set it down on the counter.  
  
  
"Probably just Leena, Brad, and Bit. I wouldn't worry about it," Doc replied. Jamie gave him a lopsided grin.  
  
  
"But... they haven't come in yet. I'm gonna go see what's going on in the hangar. You make sure nothing burns," he said. Doc became frantic.  
  
  
"B-but how do I do that!?" he asked. But Jamie never heard him, he was already just about in the hangar. Yeah, already just about in the hangar before a young female face not much older than his greeted him.  
  
  
  
-------~~~~~~~*********~~~~~~~~-------  
  
  
Arizda: Oi, there ya go. :) Sorry I haven't added new characters yet, because I know that I should, but the plot just isn't quite ready, yet. I will add more, soon, though! ^___^ Everyone who wants to be in, you're gonna be in, so do not worry! 


	7. I met you

Arizda: Yeah, I was on a little bit of a spree, today. I had a lot of chapters to write to make up for the days that I DIDN'T write. So this means about three more chapters. Lol. Maybe I'll have new characters added in by then? Who knows. *big toothy grin*. Allz I know is that u should just keep on reading! ^__^ *passes out more Kudo Bars*   
  
Disclaimer: I own only the plot, Runa, and Midnight. : p Go figure. : D  
  
  
___...--~~~^^^^***`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`***^^^^~~~--..___  
  
  
  
  
Jamie looked into the deep blue eyes before him for a few minutes. The girl in front of him gave a smirk and stared back at him into his dark eyes.   
  
  
"Hey, boy," she replied.  
  
  
"H-hey! Who are you!?" Jamie asked. Runa smiled. He had no idea who she was.   
  
  
"Ai, just a... random follower. Why don't you come and see the pretty Liger all snug in the hangar? I think I did a fine job," Runa replied, all satisfied with herself. Jamie was quite confused, but not scared of her one bit. He followed her into the hangar, and was marveled at the sight of the Liger 0 and the Berserker Midnight Land Marlin standing side by side, next to the Raynos.   
  
  
"WHAT IS THAT!?" he asked, referring to Midnight. Midnight roared in a reply.  
  
  
"Oh, that beautiful Zoid standing next to the wonderful Liger 0? Why, that would be the Berserker Midnight Land Marlin. I have dubbed her Midnight. Pretty, isn't she?" Runa asked.  
  
  
"W-who are you?" Jamie asked. Before Runa got a chance to answer, a strange smell flew into the air. Jamie sniffed the peculiar smell, and was instantly alarmed, and ran out of the hangar and back into the kitchen.   
  
  
"Jamie, I didn't know what to do!" Doc whined, smoke filling the kitchen. He had burnt practically everything on the stove--the steamed vegetables, the meatballs, and the mashed potatoes.  
  
  
"Noooo! What did you NOT do!? How can you burn MASHED POTATOES?!" Jamie asked.  
  
  
"I don't know! There were just so many different knobs on the stove, I didn't know which one to push!" Doc said. His attention was instantly drawn to Runa casually walking into the kitchen while Jamie tried to cool everything off. "Aaaahhh! Who the hell is she?!" Doc shouted.  
  
  
"Oh, I don't know. She... she managed to get the Liger 0 into the hangar... and... and I forgot to ask about Bit, Leena, and Brad! And about that OTHER Zoid that she brought in! I never got a chance to ask everything I wanted to..." Jamie replied.  
  
  
"So, then, young lady... it seems that you've managed to get the Liger 0 into it's hangar. Who might you be?" Doc asked.  
  
  
"Oooooh, hi. I'm... Runa!"  
  
  
Doc and Jamie exchanged looks. Could she be the Runa that Bit went on about the other night, trying to convince everyone that she wasn't the Cake Bandit?  
  
  
"Y-you're Runa Kirazuna?" Jamie asked.  
  
  
"Yeah. Hey, cool, you know my last name... who are you? How do you--"  
  
  
"It was Bit. Y'see, he told us about you, having met you in that cavern that--wait, where IS Bit? Where's Brad and Leena?" Doc asked.  
  
  
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-  
  
  
  
It was a dark area.  
  
  
No lighting, just a bare, dark, hallway.  
  
  
Someone was proceeding up this hallway, up to the chambers to someone very high upon the ranks. Highest, to be exact. The person proceeding up the hallway was pretty high upon the ranks himself, but he took the commands of this person. The sound of his footsteps against the soft stone floor echoed against the walls of the long, empty hallway.   
  
  
The man finally came to the chambers that he was looking for. Just above the door, a small light shone. Under the light, one would almost be able to see his light green eyes through his blue-tinted sunglasses, and spikey black hair. They would also be able to see the thin yellow and red streaks partially hidden within the black hair, and his low 3/4 of a foot long pony-tail, hanging just between his shoulder blades. He twirled the kite-shaped pendant around his neck with his thumb and index finger before knocking on the door. His clothes were a little bit peculiar, signifying that he was from a different part of Zi. His long, red, high collared jacket hid the lower half of his face, and most of the red, long sleeved shirt that he was wearing underneath. On the outside of the red shirt, he wore a short sleeved black shirt, and a red belt. He also wore black cargo jeans, with many daggers and stashes of bullets hidden in the pockets. He hid a handgun in the inside pocket of his coat.   
  
  
After knocking on the door, an interesting face greeted him with seriousness. A somewhat long face, with sharp red eyes. This figure had long, wispy silver hair, but a build that showed he was of 42 years in age. He was very tall, taller than the man that walked in, who was 6'2". THIS man was 6'7", and looked very, very solid, and very strong.  
  
  
"Ahhh haah... Zero, I see you recieved my call," he replied. The man who walked in, called "Zero", nodded.  
  
  
"Yeah," he answered. With a glance around the room, it would be certain that it was an office. This was a very dark office, with a solid, wooden table, redwood, to be exact. The walls were painted dark gray, and there was one window. A plaque on the wall had the name "Tsuki Iyako" written in black, Gothic, Medieval type letters.   
  
  
"This is extremely urgent. I have called you in to take forth in a very dangerous mission," the man said. It was clear that HE was "Tsuki Iyako".  
  
  
"That's the only reason why I'm EVER in here," Zero stated.  
  
  
"Yes, well, it seems that Hinasaki-chan has fallen. She became outnumbered. Very unfortunate. I'm counting on you to rescue her, Zero," Tsuki replied. His voice was strong, manly, and low. Zero silently smirked. Hinasaki Miyuki. The dear Miyuki-chan. In danger. Sounded just a little bit funny, to him, really. Having to be bailed out. Oh well, he would rescue her. It wouldn't be much of a problem, seeing how he could always get the job done.  
  
  
"Yeah. I'll rescue her. Do I get any reward, or is this just an 'I'd-better-do-it-for-my-own-good' mission?" Zero asked, knowing that he could beat Tsuki in a heartbeat, but he didn't want to cause a rebellion.  
  
  
"I'll consider giving you something in return for the safe return of one of the best assassins The Star Confederation has..." Tsuki began.  
  
  
"Me?" Zero said, faintly. Tsuki smirked.  
  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid that Hinasaki Miyuki has outdone you in the job of an assassination. You, Mr. Cooper, are high in the ranks of a spy."  
  
  
And that was the final word. Being his smug self with hearing that, Zero walked out of the room and back down the hallway.  
  
  
===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===+++===  
  
  
  
It had been at least half an hour before Runa had finished explaining things to Doc and Jamie. As it turns out, Runa's story checked out. And just as she finished explaining, more peculiar noises were heard in the hangar.  
  
  
"Now THAT'S probably Bit, Leena, and Brad..." Jamie replied.  
  
  
"Yeah, but we weren't expecting HER, but SHE came, so you'd better go check it out," Doc said. Jamie sighed and nodded.  
  
  
"I'll come with!" Runa said, happily. Oh, how she loved to get in other people's business. She followed the young strategist to the hangar to find three more Zoids--Leena's GunSniper, Brad's Shadow Fox, and Ricky's Rev Raptor. She figured that Bit decided to ride in the Rev Raptor. Sure enough, three warriors jumped down from the cockpits, all of them looking rather roughed up. Leena walked over, and was too tired to throw a punch in Runa's direction. Brad walked over, and wasn't too tired at all. In fact, he gave her quite a hard punch in the jaw.   
  
  
"Well I didn't think a guy had it in him to punch a girl!" Runa said back, kicking him in the face.  
  
  
'Extremely flexible,' were the only words that seemed to pass by in Brad's mind as he continued to walk into the hover cargo. Bit walked by, and wiped the blood dripping from Runa's lip.  
  
  
"Brad's not afraid to do anything..." Bit replied, bitterly. After wiping the blood away he kinda stared blankly into her face, and brushed some of her long bangs away. Runa slightly reddened after looking into Bit's fathom-deep bright green eyes.   
  
  
"You're way too nice to me, y'know?" she replied softly.  
  
  
"I guess I just keep seeing this side of you that no one else can see," were Bit's only words before walking off into the hover cargo.  
  
  
"What did you mean by 'you're way to nice to me'?" Jamie asked. Runa took a deep breath before giving him her brief answer.  
  
  
"Ooooh, I suppose things are just a little out of your reach right now. That's okay, I guess they are for me, too..." she said. "By the way... I don't think I ever caught your name."  
  
  
"Jamie."  
  
  
"Well, then, I can only guess that we're gonna end up being pretty good friends!" Runa replied, merrily. 'Why' was the only thing Jamie felt he had to know. Although, he did like the way Runa was closer to his age, and he liked to talk to her, more. She wasn't that much older than he was.  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**^**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
Arizda: Yay. Kudos. Yum. Jamie. Hi. Brad. Ouch. :) Yeeeeaaaaah, the romance part still hasn't come in yet, and things are still a little foggy, I know, but ya know what? THAT'S OKAY! And woooo, I introduced a new character. Yaaaaaaeeey! NEway, tank u for de reviews, they have been keeping me in the mood to write more. ^__^ And of course, the title will speak it's name reeeeeaaaaal soon. Ooooorr, maybe NOT so soon. Well, I haven't decided yet, so there. : p 


	8. The ice girl

Arizda: Oik, yes, I'm back once again to bring you chapter... umm... I'm pretty sure that this is chapter eight. Yeeeaaap..... well, anyways, thanks for all the reviews! It always makes me feel HAPPEEE! *throws Kudo bars around to those that reviewed* And I would like to thank all of those who let me use their characters, which is a lot of people, bcos I still have TONS of characters to use. :) Not only did people send them in with reviews, but I got lots from e-mail's, too. ^_^ Well, enough of ME TALKING, you're probably here to READ THE FICCY, so as I would usually say with other ficcy's, ON WIT DA FICCY!  
  
  
Disclaimer: Zoids I own not, Kudo Bars are good, but I own them not. Things I do own: A blanket, Runa, her Zoid, and Tsuki.  
  
  
  
.....------~~~~~*****`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'^`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`*****~~~~~------.....  
  
  
  
"Hmph, I still can't believe he punched me," Runa replied. Jamie looked at her and laughed.  
  
  
"Hey, it's just like Bit said--Brad isn't afraid to do anything!" he said back. Runa frowned and folded her arms as she followed him back to the kitchen.  
  
  
"Yeah... but, still... won't this mean that I'm not gonna owe him one?" she asked.  
  
  
"Brad won't need one, trust me," Jamie responded. Runa got mad just thinking about him.   
  
  
"The nerve of him... well, he's gotta sleep sometime... payback's a bitch," she muttered. "And... and where's Miyuki?"  
  
  
"The one girl you said shot Ricky, you mean?" Jamie asked. He watched Runa nod. The two entered the kitchen to find that burnt or not, the food had already been taken and served onto plates. Bit, Leena, and Doc seated themselves at the table, while Brad wandered off into his room to eat in silence.   
  
  
"Those pigs... do they always do this, Jamie?" Runa asked, scouring the pots and pans for traces of food.  
  
  
"Yeeeeaaaah... most of the time, they do. What do you want to eat?" Jamie asked Runa, who was still looking for food in the obviously empty pots and pans.   
  
  
"I dunno... anything is fine, really. HEY! BIT! WHERE'S MIYUKI!?" Runa yelled. She turned to Bit, who was at the table, and smiled.  
  
  
"I'm only three yards away from you, Runa... you don't have to yell at me..." Bit replied. "And... and I think she's still in the Shadow Fox. Would you go get her out, please? Wouldn't want her waking up and stealing it."  
  
  
"YOU GET UP AND DO IT! Besides, Brad would probably hit me again for touching his Zoid. Nyah... he's so mean," Runa wailed.  
  
  
"Overprotective and ego-driven is more like it," Leena said. "Hey, Jamie, these potato pancakes are pretty good. I don't remember you ever making them before!" Jamie gave an akward smile to Doc, who burnt the originally mashed potatoes.  
  
  
"Yeah, and these steamed veggies have... some... smoky flavor. I like it," Bit replied. Once again, Jamie gave the akward smile to Doc. "And ANYWAY, I'm eating, I can't go and get her. You get her and put her on the couch where we can all keep an eye on her."  
  
  
"Ooookay, but if I end up getting hit again, I'm gonna say it's YOUR fault," Runa replied, walking back to the hangar, leaving Jamie to make dinner for him and her. Before she got to the hangar, she passed Brad's room. He gave her a sharp look in the eye before asking her a question.  
  
  
"Where are you going?" he asked. "Back to the hangar? Why?"  
  
  
"U-uh... daaaa... err, Bit told me to get Miyuki," Runa replied, rather intimidated by the older man. Brad narrowed his icy blue eyes.  
  
  
"You do know where she's at, don't you?" he asked, trying to warn her.  
  
  
"Daahh... no," she lied. She didn't want to make it seem like she KNEW she was going to go into Brad's Shadow Fox. Brad set his silverware down on his plate, which he set on a desk.   
  
  
"It's in my Fox," he replied. Runa bit her lip. She was surprised when Brad gave her a surprise, yet amused look. Small traces of a grin appeared on his face. "Why are you... blushing?" This only caused her face to redden more.  
  
  
"I-I'm not blushing!" she said. She felt like that was her honest reseponse, but something inside of her told her that it wasn't. She felt her cheeks, which were a little bit warm. "Omigod!" she squealed. "Wai? Why am I blushing?"  
  
  
"And after I punched you, yet. What's wrong with you?" Brad asked, knocking her upside the head.  
  
  
"I dunno WHY you abuse me so, Brad," Runa said. "It's ridiculous. You yell at me, you punch me, and now--"  
  
  
"Hey, in case you were too blonde to figure it out, I was trying to be a little playful," Brad replied. This made Runa feel quite stupid.  
  
  
"Oh. Well then..." Runa said meekly, slapping him on the side of the head playfully. She gave him a toothy grin, but was a little bit disappointed when Brad began to stare at her icily again. "What?" she asked.   
  
  
"Don't touch me," he replied. "And I'LL get Miyuki, seeing as how she's in MY Zoid," Brad said to her. Runa began to follow him.  
  
  
"Well, seeing as how I was ASKED to do it, and not you, I'll follow!" she replied, happily. Brad just grunted in disgust.  
  
  
"You don't know how to leave one alone, do you?" Brad asked.  
  
  
"I can leave one alone whenever I want to. Ja? Okey. I don't feel like leaving you alone. So I won't. Maybe I WANT to be annoying right now, y'know?" Runa answered.  
  
  
"You're certainly doing a good job of it," Brad muttered.  
  
  
"I'm gonna be nice and not take that offensively," Runa told him. They wandered off to the hangar to climb into the Shadow Fox. Miyuki was still cold out. Runa heaved Miyuki into her arms and began to climb down the Fox. She then placed her in Brad's arms just as she slid off of the Fox's front left leg.   
  
  
"Did you really hit her that hard?" Runa suddenly asked Brad as they were walking down the hallway, just passing Brad's room.  
  
  
"Think about it, Runa. About how hard did I hit you? I hit her a great deal harder than that..." he answered. He tried to put it simple. They walked into the living room of the hover cargo, just next to the entrance and the dining room, and dropped Miyuki on the couch.  
  
  
"Wow, you guys are actually... err... getting along," Jamie replied. He had done his best with what was in the fridge at the moment--cooked cabbage and pork chops. Runa nodded and did her little happy skip to the kitchen to eat with Jamie.  
  
  
  
/________...---~***^***~---...________\  
  
  
  
  
Zero was wandering the desert plains in his Zoid, the Bahamut, in search of his female partner, Hinasaki Miyuki. From what he saw in the empty plains, Miyuki-chan and Setsunakute Ii were no where in his sight. Zero and the Bahamut were traving rather sluggishly on ground. The Bahamut was nothing short of an Ultimate X. This Zoid had pretty much everything going for it. It was a Zoid that could walk on all fours, and stand on it's hind legs, and had blade-like wings. The Bahamut was quite heavily armed, and could outrun most Zoids on it's hind legs, but it was really sluggish on all fours, and a little sluggish in flight. Zero frowned--the horse-like Zoid was nowhere to be found. Yet there was still a blip on the radar. He made a small grunt as he followed the blip, which led him to a cavern.  
  
  
The cavern was a little shaken up, but standing, nonetheless. Something began to worry him when he saw a black and white Helcat-looking-ish Zoid standing not too far from the blip. This Zoid was white with black armored stripes, and a huge gun was perched on the back of it. Zero stared at it for a few moments before the Bahamut roared. The Setsunakute Ii was standing alone, all right. Miyuki was no where in sight, and from the looks of it, she wasn't even in her Zoid. Zero jumped out of the Bahamut and looked around the eerily silent cavern. There was something about it that made him think he wasn't alone. It was just some kind of a sense. His eyes darted back and forth a few times, but saw nothing. So, Zero proceeded to the cockpit of the Setsunakute Ii.   
  
  
In a blinding instant, a few things happened all at once. Zero was thrown to the ground, shards of ice were thrown into the side of his face, and someone had pinned him onto the ground. He opened up his eyes to find that his sunglasses had been tossed aside. He looked up at the younger teen face in front of him. It was a young female, who looked around 14 years old. She had shoulder-length black hair with white streaks, bright green eyes, and a wide smile from her rose-colored lips. She was wearing a zebra-striped top, with a strap only over one shoulder, while the other shoulder was bare. She had short shorts, and knee-high leather boots. Her gloved hands were placed on Zero's chest, and each foot was planted firmly on a hip.  
  
  
"Hello, there," came her young voice. "Who might you be?"  
  
  
Zero tried to throw her off of him, but failed. 'Damn... she's too heavy, she's got me pinned better than I thought.' He still refused to answer him.  
  
  
"See these ice shards in your face?" she asked, brushing them away. "They hurt, huh? I can do that again, y'know. Who are you?" Zero grunted again. The girl stared him down with a bitter look in her green eyes.  
  
  
"My name is Zach," he replied truthfully.  
  
  
"Well, then, you must be the Zack 'Zero' Cooper I've heard about, ya?" the girl asked, moving her hands up to his collar. Zero gave her a piercing gaze. How did she know?  
  
  
"Who are you?" he asked.  
  
  
"My name is Tigra. That's right, Tee-gra! I know a lot about you and that confederation. What are you doing here, anyway?" she wondered.  
  
  
"An assossiate of mine needs help. Why do you care, you aren't--"  
  
  
"YAY! Then I'll follow! You don't know how long I've been waiting to hook up with someone, whether it's for a short time or a long time! Yessir, I've been waiting for over four years to be able to have a reason to go somewhere," Tigra replied.  
  
  
"But you DON'T have a reason to go somewhere. You're just following without a cause," Zero replied. He could tell that this slightly angered Tigra.  
  
  
"See, there's my reason: I'm just following with a cause. Eh!" she said. Zero smirked.  
  
  
"But if you weren't following me, you could have just said that you were looking for somewhere to go. That's a better reason, in my opinion," he told her. Tigra's expression saddened.  
  
  
"But y'see... I would've been travelling alone. I suppose travelling with TerraCat isn't necessarily being 'alone', but I always wanted someone else to travel with me... I'm an orphan, for crying out loud! I have no one!" she explained.  
  
  
"Well, I might not be going to a nice place. Rememer, I'm trying to rescue an assossiate of mine. Then I'm going back to where I came from, and that's not a place for you, okay?" Zero asked.  
  
  
"Okay..." Tigra answered.  
  
  
"And everyone else calls me Zero, so why don't you?" he asked. Tigra slid her hands off of Zero's collar and put her feet on the ground. She let him stand up. To her surprise, he was about a foot taller than she was.  
  
  
"Sure thing..." she said. "Some people like to call me 'Ti', while with others, I have a reputation of 'Blade'," she informed him. She wandered off into her Zoid, the TerraCat, while Zero climbed into the Setsunakute Ii to get the coordinates of Miyuki's wherabouts.   
  
  
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-________________-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  
  
  
  
Arizda: Oooh, Zero has teamed up with this mysterious orphan named Tigra! By the way, her name is pronounced 'Tee-gra', in case you didn't get that. :) The next chapter is on it's way! ^___^ Yay! Kudo bars to everyone! Me is in a happy m00d. And a new day means new time, and new time is most likely more time, and more time = more chappies! 


	9. Retrieval and a Plan

Arizda: Oi! How is everyone doing? Pretty good, you say? Good! Okay, here is chapter nine, I hope you like it! ^_^ Teehee, I still don't exactly know where the plot is going, but I think I've done a good job maintaining it, ya? Okie...  
  
  
Disclaimer: Oika, I do not own Zoids, ya? And... hm... I own Runa, Midnight, the Selekaz area, Mattie, Kiyadza, and Tsuki. That's all. Yet, I don't even know if Tsuki is gonna be in this chapter. O ya, I also own the plot. ^_^ What little portion of it that there is, at least.  
  
  
Okay, ON WIT DA FICCY!  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^**************^^^^^^^^^^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
  
  
"What are the coordinates, Zero?" Tigra asked her new friend and partner, who was just stepping out of the Setsunakute Ii. The horse-like Zoid was in no mood to do anything.  
  
  
"-56 to 7 on Quadrant Four of the Selakaz Desert area. Those coordinates are pretty accurate. Not the most specific, but they'll give us a good lead," Zero replied. Tigra nodded, trying to make it seem like she understood. "By the way... how did you do that ice thing?"  
  
  
"Oh, y'mean the throwing of the ice shards into your face? My hair does strange things when I'm fighting," Tigra answered. She hopped in her Zoid, the TerraCat, and jumped ahead of Zero's Bahamut. "So, I take it you know where you're going? Because I have no idea how to read coordinates."  
  
  
"You'd think that from being on your own so long, you'd know Zi like the back of your hand. That's okay, I know where I'm going. Just follow me, and everything will turn out the way it's supposed to," Zero simply said. "And you'd better not be a trouble-maker on my hands." Tigra gulped.  
  
  
"Well, actually, that's in my rep..." she replied. Zero didn't seem to reply to her.  
  
  
=============================================================  
  
  
  
"Kiyadza, this has got to be one of my best plans yet... I know that it will work! We'll end up getting what we want..." spoke a very confident Tsuki to a tall woman in his office. She sat on his desk, looking at her chrome-painted fingernails.   
  
  
"Well, most of your plans ARE brilliant, dear," she said. The woman was clearly of 40 years old, with long, metallic green hair, and tan eyes. She wore a red skirt just past her knees, and a red blazer with a silver ribbon going through the collar.  
  
  
"Yes, they are brilliant, and look at what they've done for The Star Confederation! We're one of the most successful groups out there, Kiyadza! Along with The Alliance!" Tsuki continued.  
  
  
"Don't be ridiculous," Kiyadza spoke, "we aren't anywhere NEAR as successful as The Alliance..."  
  
  
"Which is WHY this plan came into existance..." Tsuki said, rather evilly. "You and I both know who The Alliance's best missioner, is, right?" he asked.  
  
  
"Arunamei Kirazuna," Kiyadza answered.  
  
  
"What we'll do is.......................................................  
  
  
  
------------------------------------------  
  
  
  
  
It was around 4:15 in the morning now, and Kashie had refused to sleep like everyone else. Something itched at him, all night. He was at the consoles, going through The Alliance Member Profiles (TAMP). He typed in his sister's ID # and sped read over it.  
  
  
'ARUNAMEI ""RUNA"" KIRAZUNA'  
ID # 0775641  
  
Age: 15  
  
Female  
  
Rank: Alz-Omega-III  
  
Next Step: Alz-Omega-II  
  
Successful Missions: 142  
  
Failed Missions: 1  
  
Total Missions: 143  
  
Bodyguard: Lewis Rachel Carson  
  
Team: Star  
  
Members: Kashie Kirazuna, Daisuri Hiramoto, Dalanette Ramos, Lewis Carson  
  
Status: 2nd in Command  
  
Leader: Daisuri Hiramoto  
  
Zoid: Berserker Midnight Land Marlin  
  
Upgrades: Berserker Dawn White Marlin w/ seperate (Berserker Dusk Black Marlin)  
  
Own Post: Hihi, it's me, Runa! If you're reading my profile, you must have a damn good reason for it! ^_^ Anyway, I'm a blondie w/blue eyes, and I'm constantly busy with my missions, so if you're going to invite me over for tea, sorry, I won't be able to! ^_^;;;;;;  
  
  
Wow. He never took the time to realize how busy his sister really was. After she moved up to Alz-Omega-II, she had Alz-Omega-I, Alz-Alpha-III, Alz-Alpha-II, and at Alz-Alpha-I, she'd be the top member. He took a look at his own rank. Kashie Kirazuna--Dxx-Beta-Beta-II. He was getting up there, but he was still nowhere NEAR his sister's rank. Then, a number appeared in his head. He typed it in just out of curiosity.  
  
'MATTHEW ""MATTIE"" ANNE'  
ID # 34349990  
  
Age: 18  
  
Female  
  
Rank: Mech  
  
Next Step: ---  
  
Successful Missions: 88  
  
Failed Missions: 4  
  
Total Missions: 92  
  
Bodyguard: ---  
  
Team: Mech  
  
Members: ---  
  
Status: Leader  
  
Leader: Matthew Anne  
  
Zoid: Gustav R  
  
Upgrades: Gustav X  
  
Own Post: Hey there, I'm a mechanic for The Alliance. If you need to contact me, I'm open for missions, and my room number is 846-B in floor 5. Don't make fun of my name.  
  
  
Kashie found his hand slowly reaching for the phone. He dialed the girl called Matthew's room number. F-5 : 846-B. There. He dialed the number and waited for a face to appear on the console.  
  
  
"Hello?" came a strong British, female voice. Kashie looked at the screen to see that Matthew had short brown hair just past her ears and beautiful dark green eyes. She looked at him on the screen of the console in her room. "Who are you?"  
  
  
"Oh, um, this is the console master, Kashie Kirazuna. I was wondering... might you be able to retrieve a Zoid for me in cavern on -53 to 6 in Quadrant Three of the Selekaz area?" Kashie asked.  
  
  
"Oh... uh, sure! I'm going to need all of the details that I can get, though," she replied. "I'm Mattie Anne. I hope carrying this Zoid back to The Alliance's hangar with the Gustav X won't be a problem."  
  
  
"Uh, no not a problem, Mattie. The Zoid is called the Setsunakute Ii, and it looks like a horse. It's black and red, and the horse has horns. The Zoid has a charged particle cannon and several mini guns as well as scattered boosters," Kashie explained. Mattie took down notes on a sheet of thin yellow paper. When Kashie stopped talking, she folded it up and stuck it in her pocket.  
  
  
"Okay then, Kashie. By the tell of it's location, it should be back within three or four hours. I'll call you in the hangar when I return. One more successful mission for the Mattie!" she said, grabbing a blue cap from a peg on the wall in her chambers. She clicked the console off.  
  
  
"Now to just tell everyone else what I did..." Kashie said to himself.  
  
  
"Whadja do?" came the familiar voice of D-chan behind him.  
  
  
"I called one of the mechs to bring in Miyuki's Zoid to the hangar so we could check it out. There might be some good info in there. After all, do YOU know what The Star Confederation is?" Kashie asked.  
  
  
"Actually, I think our main man has hidden something from the members of The Alliance..." D said.  
  
  
"Naw, you don't mean L'Petite, do you?" Kashie asked.  
  
  
"Oh, of course I do. Main Man Mr. Jean Pierre L'Petite, who basically STARTED The Alliance probably has something going on with this so called Star Confederation. We'd better talk to his son about it," D suggested. By this time, Dalanette had gotten her sleepy head up and walked in to the dark console room.  
  
  
"Okay, what's up?" she asked, yawning.   
  
  
"We're gonna ask Paul L'Petite about The Star Confederation. He seems to be the only person who would know anything about it besides the Main Man himself," Kashie answered.  
  
  
"Oh, well don't ask me to come along, I'm just gonna go back to sleep," Dalanette replied, running a hand through her jet-black hair. She started walking out of the console room and back to her own chambers. Kashie sighed.  
  
  
"I don't think talking to Paul is such a great idea. He kinda... scares me, D. He scares me more than Jean!" he wailed. D-chan folded her arms.  
  
  
"Nyah, how scary can he be? Come on, *I'M* scarier than HE is!" she laughed.  
  
  
"Well no duh... you appear to be Gothic in the eyes of most people, D!" Kashie replied. D-chan shrugged. Then, the console in front of Kashie lit up with the face of his sleepy-eyed sister.  
  
  
"I'm just reporting in. Okay, I'm gonna go to sleep, now. Tell everyone I said good morning..." Runa replied, then the console went blank again.  
  
  
"At least we know she's okay," D-chan replied. Kashie nodded.  
  
  
  
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Arizda: Oooh, what's this plan that Tsuki has come up with? Will our dear Runa be okay? And what will become of Zero and Tigra? And will Mattie complete her mission? What's Kashie gonna do? And what will happen when Miyuki wakes? Will all hell break loose? Keep reading to find out! ^__^ Thanks for the reviews, everyone! Keep them coming! :D *throws around Kudo Bars for ppl. to eat* :) 


	10. Taken

Arizda: Ok, sorry about that, the last chapter was shorter than I thought. :\ No prob, I'm guessing that this chapter will be pretty long. ^_______^ Okay, here's the next chapter! Whee! Here ya goez. Oh, and as I finished chapter nine, I found I was a little bit short on evil characters... O_O''' Well, I suppose I'll figure something out. ^_^ Here ya go, chapter ten!  
  
  
Disclaimer: Oooh, you know how this goes! I don't own a lot of stuff. But I DO own Runa, Midnight, the plot, a few blankets, and the stuff that I said that I owned last chapter. :) I still own all of that. And I pwn J00! J/k, just read. ^_^  
  
  
Anyway, ON WIT DA FICCY!!!  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^-_-^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
D-chan left the room after watching Kashie mess around with the consoles a little bit, checking up on the security and such. She left, but another walked in.  
  
  
"Hi, Kashie. You're up WAY earlier than usual," came a teen-aged female voice. Kashie casually turned his chair around to recieve a good-morning look from a short 16-year-old girl with knee-length midnight black hair. Her irregularly dark violet eyes also casted a greeting look upon him.  
  
  
"Hey, Izumi," Kashie responded. The girl walked up to the consoles with him. On her shoulder, she had a fierce looking dragon tatoo that could scare off anyone who didn't know her. She wore a violet turtle neck and black baggy pants to appear casual. Izumi yawned and stretched her arms.  
  
  
"Why did you wake up so freakin' early?" she asked. Kashie shrugged.  
  
  
"I just... wanted to see what was goin' on. Runa's going to be away for awhile. She's staying with another team because they won't hand over what we think is a spy to be questioned," he answered.  
  
  
"Oh they WON'T, huh?" Izumi asked, dangerously.  
  
  
"Well, I know that if YOU were there with us, you would've gotten her back. Hehe, but that redhead on the other team... geez... you might have competition," Kashie replied.  
  
  
"WHAT!? ME!? Naw, naw, naw, NO ONE can compete with me! I would fuckin' cuss her outta Zi in a fuckin ' heartbeat!" Izumi shouted.  
  
  
"Oho, yeah, I'm not saying that I disagree... I'm just saying that you might have a liiiiiittle competition... aka, it might be a lil' bit harder, Izumi," Kashie said.  
  
  
"Bwahahaha, yeah, right. You're so paranoid, just like your sister," Izumi cackled.  
  
  
"Hey, my sister has been keeping that pretty well handled. I'm sure she's been letting it get the best of her every once in awhile, but she's been keeping it under wraps... I know she's paranoid, she's a freak, what can you expect?" Kashie asked. This made Izumi giggle.  
  
  
"You're mean, Kashie. For a 12-year-old, you sure know how to word things..." she said.  
  
  
"Weeeell, it's true!" Kashie answered. "And anyway, I just might take my Spino and head back over to where she's at and see what's goin' on. I don't think I totally trust everyone there."  
  
  
"Greeeeat, that'll give me something to do! I'll go with you!" Izumi replied. "CHEEEEMUUUKK!" she hollered. In a few moments, a black wolf came running into the console room. The wolf was a tad bit smaller than a wolf should be, and it had a large scar on her front left leg. Well, for saying that, you should know that everyone in the room at the moment had a scar somewhere. Kashie had one right across the bridge of his nose, and Izumi had an ugly scar across her cheek. Having heard this, Kashie scratched his head and ruffled his black spikey hair a little bit.  
  
  
"Uh... I dunno, Izumi. Don't you have stuff to do?" he asked.  
  
  
"Don't YOU?" Izumi asked.  
  
  
"Well, yeah, but--"  
  
  
"So then don't get on MY ass about it, if it's gonna be a big bite in YOUR ass, too! I don't wanna do all this shit I gotta do around here right now! Blah, I'll let the rest of my team do it," Izumi replied.  
  
  
"Mneh..."  
  
  
^~~^*^~~^*^~~^*^~~^  
  
  
  
'Oi, good good sleep...' Runa thougth as she curled up on the floor of the living room in the hover cargo. Peaceful. The only thing that managed to go through her mind at the moment. She tossed around a few times trying to find an even more comfortable position when she got a strange image in her head.  
  
  
"Holy shit!" she said to herself, waking up instantly. She hugged her knees for a few seconds, and then stood up, only to run into Bit.  
  
  
"What's wrong, Runa?" he asked, walking into the kitchen. Runa felt her face just flushing red.  
  
  
"N-nothing!" she said a little bit louder than she wanted to. She reached for a glass, but instead, walked over to the sink, turned the tap on as far as it would go, and stuck her head underneath the running water. Bit just stared at her blankly, his hand halfway into the cabinet reaching for a cup.   
  
  
"Uh..."  
  
  
After about 15 seconds, Runa turned the tap off and slowly tilted her head up and let the water from her soaked hair run down her back. She didn't seemed phased at the chill of it at all.  
  
  
"Um... you could've used the shower..." Bit replied. Runa only gave a shrill sigh.  
  
  
"Nope," she said in a somewhat high voice. Strange and peculiar. Bit didn't know why she was acting that way. Runa began to walk down the hallway down to the bathroom when she ran into Brad, woken by the noises in the kitchen.   
  
  
"What's wrong with you?" he asked when he saw Runa's wet and flushed face.  
  
  
"Nothing," she squeaked. 'Dammit, that sounded so stupid,' she thought to herself.   
  
  
"Hehe, ooooh no, there's something wrong with you," Brad replied, placing a hand on top of the shorter female's head and leading her back into the living room. He shoved her into a chair. "What's up?"  
  
  
"I said that there was nothing wrong," Runa said. The red in her face was beginning to go away.   
  
  
"I think she's okay... maybe... err... she just... uh..." Bit said, trying to find an excuse for Runa. Runa folded her arms and gave a rude glance at Brad.  
  
  
"Whydo'ya always have to go and NOT TRUST ME, Brad?" she asked.  
  
  
"I can't. It's something about you. I just can't trust ANY PART OF YOU. I don't know why, exactly. If you have a problem with it, then leave," Brad said to her. That was enough to light Runa's fuse. Her eyes narrowed. From her pocket, she pulled out a six-inch iron bar that was just a little bit thicker than her pinky. She pulled on the ends and it extended to a foot and a half. With the press of a button, two blades appeared on the end.  
  
  
"I've had enough. Want me to be nice? Then show some mutual feelings, God dammit! I have to deal with this kind of shit every day, but you," Runa replied, pointing her bladed baton at Brad, "you have managed to piss... me... off. I've had enough of you! I don't care if you don't trust me, I'm gonna keep with all of you until I get what I came for, no matter how much shit I have to put up with! So I'm gonna tell you right now that all of the damn crap you're gonna say to me in the future isn't gonna be worth it!"   
  
  
Faint clapping from the kitchen could be heard. Everyone turned to see Leena standing in the kitchen, clapping at Runa's speech.   
  
  
"VERY well said, Runa," she replied. "I know one girl who isn't taking crap from anyone." Runa smirked.  
  
  
"Damn straight," she replied. Leena felt that she had the need to talk one-on-one with Runa. She set her coffee cup on the kitchen counter and tightened the belt of her lemon yellow bath robe.  
  
  
"Bit, Brad, can you... um, leave for a for a few minutes? I... I kinda need to talk to Runa. So... umm... yeah, please?" Leena asked. Bit left the room and wandered back to his own, while Brad did the same after giving a strange look to Runa. When it was obvious that there wasn't a male soul in the living room, Leena spoke up.  
  
"I... I can really tell that there's going to be trouble with you and Brad. It's better to have him on your side than against you, though, because he can either save your ass, or chew your ass out," she began. "Why don't you apologize? I KNOW that you didn't do anything... but, he won't, and if one of you doesn't speak up to one another, then, well, y'see, you won't ever be... friends."  
  
"Do I really want that bastard as a friend?" Runa asked. Little did the two know that it wasn't just them listening to the conversation.  
  
  
Then, there was a noise. A loud, ear shattering noise. Everyone woke--Doc, Jamie, Bit, Brad, Miyuki--they all ran to the proper places, except for Miyuki, who was quite confused, despite the fact that she had been listening to Leena and Runa. Jamie and Doc were observing what was going on outside through the hover cargo's main window and console screen, as Bit, Brad, Leena, and Runa ran into the hangar. When the four entered the hangar, though, they saw a large hole torn in the side of the hangar, and two Zoids--an Iron Kong PK, and a strange Zoid known as The Bahamut. Runa had a sudden feeling that they were after her.  
  
"Aiiiee...! Where did they come from!?" Leena shouted. She never got her answer. The Iron Kong and Bahamut jumped into the hole and entered the hangar. Bit ran as fast as he could to get to his Liger 0, but his path was destroyed as the Bahamut stood clearly in his way. Numerous weapons pointed at the members of the Blitz team, freezing them in their tracks.  
  
"Move, and I shoot!" shouted the pilot of the Bahamut. The cockpit of the Iron Kong opened up, and a shadowy figure jumped out. He moved behind Runa, and held her in a lock. He quickly threw chains over her arms, which were behind her back. Runa screamed. She tried to get her feet to touch the ground, but the shadowy figure was taller than she was, and held her in the air. Runa felt the air she needed not filling her lungs. She gasped a few times before she started to choke up tears. The figure held a towel over her mouth, and a strange fume entered Runa's lungs, making her pass out.  
  
"I'm here for Miyuki!" the pilot of the Bahamut shouted, again. Hearing this, Miyuki ran into the hangar and climbed into the cockpit of the Bahamut.   
  
"Zero! Y-you... you came to get me!" Miyuki replied, rather surprised, and finding herself glad. Zero smirked.  
  
"But of course, Miyuki-chan," he replied. Miyuki glared at him. The shadowy figure heaved Runa into his arms and jumped back into the Iron Kong.  
  
"Hey!" Bit shouted, ignoring the fact that a single gun was aimed at him. He ran after the man who had Runa, but it was too late, he was already inside his Zoid, and the Bahamut began to fire at him. Fortunately, Bit dodged the bullets shot at him, but the two Zoids jumped out of the hole in the hangar and ran off.  
  
"T-they just... they just ran off with Runa and Miyuki!" Leena said, biting her lip.  
  
"Dammit, FOLLOW THEM!" Bit shouted, running into the Liger 0. "Come on, Liger!"  
  
Leena started to run to her GunSniper, when she glanced at Brad, who just stood there with a hard face, his arms folded. She frowned.  
  
"Come on, Brad, she didn't want to be so mean to you, in fact, she was gonna apologize! Come on, we gotta go and get her back! We don't know who those people were, and they could really hurt her!" Leena told him.  
  
"I hurt her. Did it look like I cared?" Brad asked.  
  
"How can you be so heartless at a time like this!?" Leena shouted. Brad sighed. He didn't like the idea of being 'heartless'. Even he had a heart. He made way to the Shadow Fox. Leena smiled, satisfied with her work, and ran to the cockpit of her GunSniper.   
  
  
"H-hey, what did you do, Zero?!" came Tigra's worried voice. Her face appeared on the screen of Zero's cockpit. He sighed.  
  
"I told you, we were going to rescue my assossiate. We're going back to where we came from, Tigra, and I don't want you to come along!" Zero replied.  
  
"We don't want her, anyway, Zero," came a bitter voice coming from the Iron Kong.  
  
"Who is she, Zero?" Miyuki asked.  
  
"That's Tigra. Ti, don't follow us. We're going somewhere that you shouldn't be. The Star Confederation's base, and you don't belong there!" Zero said.  
  
"Then... then where am I supposed to go?" Tigra asked, following The Bahamut with the TerraCat.   
  
"I don't know. I'm sure you can find somewhere to go around here. I'd hate to see someone like you get tangled up in something that you shouldn't," Zero replied. Tigra sniffled.  
  
"Fine, I see when I'm not wanted. You don't care what I do! I'll see YOU later!" she fumed, running off. Zero glanced behind him, watching the TerraCat run off at full speed. He saw another Zoid getting closer, however.   
  
"Dammit... the Liger is after us!" Zero replied to his partner.  
  
"Don't worry..." the pilot of the Iron Kong spoke. "No one messes with Paul L'Petite!" Zero smirked as Miyuki clutched the back of his seat.  
  
"You're right. If anyone is that stupid, then they SHOULD get hurt," he replied.  
  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
  
  
Arizda: Yaaaaaaay, I think the plot is coming together. The title will soon speak its name! Ooooh yeeeeah! WHEEE! I can't wait! : p It's NEVER too late to submit characters, by the way. I'm expecting to make this ficcy really long. ^_^ So I'll fit 'em all in there with respectively big responsibilities. In other words, all characters will have a good spot in the story. :) It's as much as their story as it is Runa's is what I like to believe. So keep those reviews comin'! : D *gives Kudo bars to everyone* 


	11. Crimson Bullet

Arizda: Oi! Hihi, all! Howzya been doin'? Have you been liking my multiple chappies per day deal goin' on? ^_^; As long as you review, I'll continue this deal with a PLUS! MORE KUDO BARS! Hehe. Now, where were we when we (whoa, all 'w's'! where were we when! lol... I crack myself up!) last left off? I think Runa had gotten herself into some deep shit w/ The Star Confederation that she doesn't know a freakin' thing about. :) And it turns out that it was none other than Paul L'Petite who had kidnapped her! What does Jean L'Petite have to say about this? Will he ever find out? AND WILL RUNA BE OKAY!? Well, you'll find out if u read! ^______^ And will Runa and Brad ever stop pickin' on each other? Lol to whoever thought they'd be a couple in the ficcy... I never thought about that. I personally think 15 and 34 are NOT good age matches... : p NE WAY, ON WIT DA FICCY!  
  
Disclaimer: Blah blah blah, you know the drill...  
  
  
~`~`~`~`-'-'-'-'~`~`~`~`  
  
  
  
"Oh, well THIS is just fuckin' DANDY!" Kashie yelled to the remaining members of the Blitz team. He stood in the hangar with Doc and Jamie. "HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN!?"  
  
  
"We didn't just LET it happen!" Doc replied. "There wasn't a whole lot we could do about it..."  
  
  
"Oho, FUCK that! If I were here, I would've DAMN WELL stopped it! And lookie at me! HELL-o, I'm 12! I wouldn't have let my sister get taken by some fuckin' confederation that we don't know a fuck about!" Kashie shouted.  
  
  
"You're on a roll, Kashie, keep goin'!" Izumi cheered her young friend on. Apparently, Kashie wasn't taking lightly to the fact that Runa had been taken by The Star Confederation. Chemuk howled.  
  
  
"We're not giving up, you know!" Jamie replied, finally having a say in the fight between Doc and Kashie. "Just because I'm not out there chasing after your sister doesn't mean I'm not gonna give up or anything! The system on my Raynos can track down ANYTHING!"  
  
  
"Then WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU OUT THERE LOOKING FOR RUNA!?" Izumi shouted.  
  
  
"Well GEE, maybe it's because I gotta stand here fighting with you!" Jamie shouted. He felt his alter ego beginning to spark.  
  
  
"Dammit..." Kashie sighed heavily and turned around. "What am I gonna do? I don't know where to go to FIND Runa..."  
  
  
"Remember that talk that you had with D?" Izumi asked.  
  
  
"What!? How would YOU know? You weren't even there!" Kashie exclaimed. Izumi smiled her smile that told Kashie he was wrong.  
  
  
"Oooohoho! Naw, I was there, you just didn't know it. Jean L'Petite should have the answers that we need. He's a madman... but then again, he IS the head of The Alliance..." she replied.  
  
  
"Yeah. Ooookay, I've had just about enough of YOU guys. See ya," Kashie said. He jumped into the cockpit of his Slashback Spino, and jumped out of the hangar, Izumi following with the Shadow Dancer.  
  
  
"Maybe we should've never got tangled up with that whole cavern thing, in the first place. I guess it's kinda my fault that we DID... because I made Bit explore it the other night... which gave us this scenario..." Jamie replied.  
  
  
"No disagreeing with you, there, Jamie," Doc agreed. Jamie sighed.  
  
  
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+  
  
  
  
Zero, Paul, and Miyuki had all entered a strange room back at the Confederation. Runa was thrown on the floor, where she quickly regained her senses and woke up.  
  
  
"W-where am I?!" she coughed.   
  
  
"Where you belong," Miyuki laughed. "Welcome to The Star Confederation. I bet you've been waiting to come here."  
  
  
"Kotebare, Hinasaki Miyuki!" Runa snarled back. Miyuki was somewhat taken aback by Runa's reply.  
  
  
"I'm sorry, did you just tell me to 'fuck off'?" she asked, greatly amused, but not showing it too much. Runa narrowed her eyes.  
  
  
"You figure it out!" she shouted. Miyuki approached Runa and slapped her across the face. Runa bit Miyuki's hand. Then, Miyuki promptly kicked Runa in the face. This caused her to stay on the ground. She glanced away from Miyuki, Zero, and Paul.  
  
  
"Hah, look at her," Paul replied, disgusted. "Zero, do something with this pathetic warrior. It's sad to think, really, that she could be one of the best The Alliance has."  
  
  
They were insulting her. It was eating away at her, but she wasn't going to do anything about it. She was just going to stay where she was and take all the beatings she could, but she wasn't going to do anything else. They weren't going to get anything out of her. Zero walked to Runa, who had blood dripping from the corner of her mouth (from Miyuki's kick). He chained her arms behind a strange pole that was behind her. Runa hadn't even noticed it.   
  
  
"You should really feel sorry for yourself," Zero whispered to her. He put a hand under her chin and looked into her hurting blue eyes. "It really hurts me when I have to see young people get into this when they could've done better."  
  
  
'What does he feel sorry for you, Runa?' she thought. 'At least he's not being so rough with you... the last thing you need is more pain.'  
  
  
"Okay, Kirazuna, we want our answers. Once you give them to us, you're free to go," Paul spoke. Runa glared at him.  
  
  
"Hah... guess I'll just have to stay here then, because I'm not giving you a damn thing, except a hard time," she replied. Paul folded his arms and made a strange beckon to Miyuki. She pulled out a gun. "What are you gonna do, kill me? Then you'll never get your answers!"  
  
  
"Think again, Runa!" Miyuki replied. She pulled the trigger, and a strange dart came flying out. The dart stuck in Runa's left shoulder. It hurt like hell. Runa glanced at it and saw blood dripping down her shoulder. She didn't exactly know wh at the dart was, but it hurt.  
  
  
"What do you want to know...?" Runa asked.  
  
  
"Well, for starters, which planet has The Alliance found the new metals on?" Paul asked. Runa bit her lip, trying to think of the answer, herself. Landar. That's right. Landar. Well, there was no way she would tell them something as simple as that.  
  
  
"You really expect me to tell you, don't you?" Runa smirked. "I can't believe you don't know that much, already." Miyuki fired again, this time, a little bit above Runa's left elbow. Once again, massive pain. 'You're strong on the outside, sensitive on the inside, Runa. Don't let pain bring you down...' Runa listened to her subconscious and swallowed hard to rid the tears welding up in her eyes.  
  
  
"Why don't you know anything, Paul? You're Jean's son, I'd expect you to know everything!" she shouted.  
  
  
"I'm with The Star Confederation, not The Alliance, dumbass. Get it through your head," Paul snapped back. Runa sat crosslegged, ignoring the immense pain in her left arm. "And I'm waiting for my answers."  
  
  
"Just so you know, I wasn't told too much about that. Nor was I told ANYTHING about your stupid little confederation, you got goin'!" Runa shouted. Miyuki shot her in the right shoulder this time.  
  
  
"For your information, it's not MY confederation, I'M not the leader, I'm just in the top ranks!" Paul replied. "Now, answer me, dammit!"  
  
  
"Make me!" Runa shouted. She was shot in the right arm again. That was enough pain for tears. She was chained to a pole in a room with three evil people, one shooting her every time she didn't answer, and she still wasn't going to give out any information. She wouldn't let anything slip. She'd die with honor.  
  
  
"She's obviously not in the mood to let anything slip, Paul. Why don't we leave her with the Crimson Bullet? She'll probably come around soon enough," Zero replied.  
  
  
"The Bullet? Err, you mean CAGED, of course, right?" Miyuki asked.  
  
  
"Well yeah, if he weren't, then he'd probably rip her to shreds..." he answered.  
  
  
"Sounds good to me," Paul replied. A button on the wall was pressed, and from the glossy black floors of the room, a large cage rose. It had large metal bars, and a rather tall and dangerous looking man inside. He was wearing a mask, and looked quite crazy. Just looking into his sea blue eyes scared Runa. The man's bright red hair poked out of his mask here and there, and he was kept wrapped in a straightjacket.   
  
  
  
"What am I to do NOW!?" he asked, his mere tone of voice frightening Runa.  
  
  
"Scare her shitless," Zero replied before leaving the room with Miyuki and Paul. Runa gave a pleading look to Zero before he slammed the large oak door, then she centered her looks to the scary man in the cage.  
  
  
"Who are you!?" she asked.  
  
  
"Call me the Crimson Bullet, miss..."  
  
  
"Kirazuna. A-and you think you can scare me?" Runa asked, knowing that that somehow wasn't the right thing to say. Crimson roared with laughter, and continued to do so after seeing Runa hug the pole.  
  
  
  
-------*-------  
  
  
  
"So, how long do you figure we leave her in there alone with him?" Miyuki asked.  
  
  
"Until she screams..." Paul smirked. Miyuki sighed with boredom after she heard a scream from the room they just left.  
  
  
"Really? That seems just a little bit too soon, if you ask me..." she replied, folding her arms.  
  
  
"Yeah... you're right. What do you think, Zero?" Paul asked. Zero just shrugged and folded his arms as he walked alongside his partners.  
  
  
"I don't know..." he answered.  
  
  
"Hey, and what about Setsunakute Ii? We are going to get her back, aren't we? Shouldn't we go do that now? I really don't think it was a good idea to leave her in the cavern... that is what you did, right?" Miyuki asked.  
  
  
"Well, yeah, that's what I did. What else was I supposed to do with it? Tigra and I already had Zoids to pilot!" Zero answered. "But I'll go with you to get it."  
  
  
"No, that's fine, I'm pretty capable of doing things myself, thank you very much," Miyuki snapped, walking in the opposite direction down the hallway.  
  
  
"I'm going to get a list of questions to ask that Kirazuna when she's ready. Care to come with, Zero?" Paul asked. Zero shook his head.  
  
  
"Naw... I'll... I'll find something else to do," he replied. When Paul left walking down the hallway, Zero peered into the room to see Runa crying as Crimson continuously insulted her. "It's better than getting shot at... better your pride than your life..."  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~---___---~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
Arizda: Oiii, I think I've done a fine job of the story so far... hehe, yusss... I have eeeeverything all planned out. Expect chapter twelve to come up sometime today! :D *throws around Kudo Bars* I have to find a new snack/treat, too... I think these are starting to lose their popularity... oh well, TELL ME WHAT SNACK YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO THROW AROUND IN YOUR REVIEW! ^_^ I shall do so. :) 


	12. A line of defense

Arizda: *yawn* Eeeeeeee... me-sa is getting tired... -_- me-sa thinks me-sa is getting sick. : p O well. That means I don't have to do anything all day which means I GET TO WRITE! ^_^ :) Send in those reviews, ya?  
  
  
Disclaimer: U know da drill.  
  
  
.:___.....----~~~^*^~~~----.....___:.  
  
  
  
  
Kashie was resting on his bed, waiting for the headaches he was recieving to go away, when he heard a knock at his chamber door. He was a too tired and troubled to answer it.  
  
"Kashie?"  
  
This voice sounded vaguely familiar, so Kashie took the time to stand up. He looked at himself in the mirror before going to open up the door. His messy black hair showed signs that he wasn't in a good mood.  
  
"Kashie, it's Bit."  
  
Kashie sped up and ran to the door and quickly opened it. Sure enough, the tall blonde from the Blitz Team stood in front of him.  
  
"What do you want?!" Kashie asked. Bit swallowed hard.  
  
"I know where The Star Confederation is..." he murmured. Kashie was shocked.  
  
"You do?! Where's it at!?" he asked.  
  
"No, I'm not going to tell. I'm going to go in and get your sister back. Promise. But... I need a little bit of help. I--I can't exactly do it on my own... the security has me a little... well, stumped..." Bit replied. Kashie nodded.  
  
"Aaaaai, I see what you want. Come on, to the console room. You need an engineer? Electronics major? Yeah?" Kashie asked.  
  
"Err... yeah, kinda. Do you have a codemaster?" Bit asked. Kashie smirked.  
  
"I'm the electronics major, yes, at 12. I'm not real good with codes, but I can sorta hack into the system. What do you need? We have members for every sort mission," he replied.  
  
"A distraction," Bit answered.  
  
"Ookay, and... one question. How did you find The Alliance?" Kashie asked.  
  
"I took Runa's Zoid."  
  
  
Bit followed Kashie into the console room, where they both sat down in front of the largest console in the room. Kashie pressed a button on the keyboard to trigger the screensaver off.  
  
"A distraction, you say? I have the perfect warrior in mind... Dominik Jackson. Pilots a Blade Liger," Kashie answered. He typed in an ID # and a profile came up on the screen.  
  
  
'DOMINIK ""DOM"" JACKSON'  
ID #: 666667  
  
Age: 18  
  
Male  
  
Rank: DlX-4-Beta-II  
  
Next Step: DlX-4-Beta-I  
  
Successful Missions: 106  
  
Failed Missions: 9  
  
Total Missions: 115  
  
Bodyguard: ---  
  
Team: ---  
  
Members: ---  
  
Status: Lone  
  
Leader: Dominik Jackson  
  
Zoid: Blade Liger  
  
Upgrades: Unknown  
  
Own Post: I'm Dominik. I'm used mostly as a distraction in missions. The only reason I've failed 9 out of 115 of my given missions is because my Blade Liger has been sabatoched (sp?). I'm open currently for missions. My room number is 099-X on floor 19.  
  
  
"This is our man," Kashie replied. Bit finished reading the profile and nodded.  
  
"Call him. I'm going to The Star Confederation right now. I'm bringing her back..." he said. Kashie was a little bit curious as to why he was so determined.  
  
"Bit..." he started. "I have a suspicion... I dunno why, but you like Runa, huh?" Kashie found the tone of his voice being a little too nice. Bit stared blankly at the console screen.  
  
"It depends on what you mean..." he replied.  
  
"Nah, I already have my answer," Kashie said and smirked. He picked up the phone and dialed the number of Dominik's chambers. "You go. Since you're taking Midnight, I'll be able to find you."  
  
  
At that moment, Ricky walked in. Bit and Kashie directed their attention to him, who had a bandage around the arm that Miyuki had shot.  
  
"Where did you say Runa was...?" he asked, having heard the whole conversation. He sounded worried, wondering where his friend had gone.  
  
"Ricky... um... well, it's... Runa's been napped by the enemy side, basically," Kashie replied. This angered Ricky.  
  
"Where's my Rev Raptor!? I'll help you get her back!" he shouted. Kashie shook his head.  
  
"You need to rest. You're bullet wound hasn't fully healed yet, Uli..." he replied.  
  
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" Ricky shouted. Kashie bit his lip.  
  
"Daaah... Ricky!" he answered.  
  
"No, you called me Uli! Don't ever call me that! I HATE THAT!" Ricky shouted, clenching his fists and glaring at Kashie.  
  
"Why?" he asked.  
  
"Because... other reasons AND it sounds like Julie!" Ricky replied.  
  
"So? Lewis's middle name is Rachel... well, if we bring that up, he pretty much skins us alive... so, eh... hehe. Yeah. And then there's this girl named Matthew who I called earlier to bring the Setsunakute Ii to The Alliance hangar..."  
  
  
Just then, Mattie's figure appeared on the console screen. She was standing in the hangar next to the Setsunakute Ii, smiling.  
  
"Is this the Zoid you wanted me to bring back? It fits the description pretty well, I think," she replied. Sure enough, she had done a perfect job. The Setsunakute Ii was brought back without a scratch.  
  
"Yup. Now, just make sure that it's protected. I have a bad feeling that The Star Confederation is going to come looking for that thing. Set up a line of defenses," Kashie ordered.  
  
"What?" Mattie asked, puzzled. "What are you talking about? What's The Star Confederation?" she asked again. Kashie began to type in another number on a separate console.  
  
"No time to explain now, just do it! I know that I'm not in charge of defenses, but make sure that the people in charge of defenses know that we're going to be under attack pretty soon! I'm sure Jean will understand," Kashie replied, being smug as he mentioned Jean. The "king" of The Alliance had no decency in not explaining the enemy team. Why he was in charge, Kashie would never know or care. And for something besides the point, Ricky felt totally left out.  
  
"You'd better bring Runa back!" Ricky replied before leaving to go back to his chambers to rest.  
  
"Don't worry about that! We'll stop that stupid confederation from trying to do... whatever they're trying to do, and we'll bring Runa back...!" Kashie insured. Bit was a little surprised.  
  
"Ya mean you don't even know what they're trying to do?" he asked.  
  
"Well, no! The Main Man, Mr. Jean Pierre L'Petite," Kashie started, sounding snobby, "didn't tell us diddly squat about ANYTHING like an opponent or an enemy! We thought we had bagged this mission! All we're trying to do is just get the metals from the nearby planet Landar. I'm supposing that maybe they're trying to butt in and get it before we do... but this is really the first time that we've ever had trouble with them!"  
  
"Well then, sounds serious. I'll call defenses, and you go do what you're going to do, Kashie. I'll talk to you soon," Mattie replied in her thick British voice, and then turned off the link. Kashie nodded to himself and quickly started typing in the room number 'F-19 : 099-X' . In a few moments, a figure appeared on the screen. He was lounging in his chambers, not doing much, apparently waiting for a call. Upon closer glances, one could tell that he had black hair, with golded bangs, and two different colored eyes--one silver, one brown. He was dressed for cold weather, it seemed, as he was in a long dark green shirt, black cargos, and black boots. He got up from his lounging position and up to the screen.  
  
"Hello?" he asked in a somewhat annoyed tone.  
  
"Hey, uh, you're Dominik Jackson, I'm guessing. This is the console master, Kashie Kirazuna. I have a mission for you, and it involves the rescuing of a fellow Alliance member," Kashie replied. Dominik cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"Who?" he asked.  
  
"My sister," Kashie answered.  
  
"What?! You're kidding! Arunamei? How did she... but I thought that she was the--"  
  
"Oh, she still is. But apparently, our boss never told us that we had an enemy. Runa found that out the hard way. Now it's up to us to get her back, and we're gonna go bitchin' to Mr. L'Petite. Are you in?" Kashie asked.  
  
"Sure. Consoles, you say? I'll be in the hangar in ten minutes."  
  
"Great."  
  
"What, don't I get to come, too?"  
  
Kashie and Bit both turned around to see Izumi standing in the doorway with D, Lewis, and Dalanette. Kashie bit his lip.  
  
"No. You stay here. I'll call if we need help. The last thing we need is all of the Star Team being assassinated or something," Kashie replied. Izumi laughed.  
  
"Hey, hey, who's team am I on? Certainly not the Star Team!" she replied. Chemuk barked at her side and ran circles around Kashie. "See, even Chemuk is up to going with me. She could sniff out ANYONE'S trail. Finding Runa will be a breeze, Kashie. Just give me a chance!" Izumi pleaded.  
  
"Fine, but just you, Izumi. The rest of you... please, just stay here! I don't want a whole troop over at the confederation. It'll be too obvious!" Kashie said.   
  
"Oh, but you know that I'll be calling to ask when we can come down there to steal some cakes!" D-chan spoke. Kashie sighed.  
  
"Yes, D, I know..." he replied. "Come on, Bit, Izumi, let's go. We have to meet Dominik at the hangar in ten minutes." Kashie took a deep breath. "Didn't think I'd end up doing a mission like this... ever..."  
  
  
___---~~^^^***^^^:::...:::^^^***^^^~~---___  
  
  
Arizda: Oik! *throws around Chocolate Pudding and Kudo Bars to reviewers* Yuuuuusss.... v_v I have finished chapter... what, twelve? Eeeh! Wow. I'm already surprised with what I've done with it! I just have to figure out what I'm gonna do with the rest of the Blitz team, lol. Hehe, expect the second genre of the story to kick in pretty soon, too! Yeah, there's supposed to be LOTS of that second genre... :) NEway, tell me how ya like it! ^__^ 


	13. The Star Confederation - p. A: The Entra...

Arizda: *eats some chocolate pudding and listens to her Jimmy Eat World CD (hehe, I own one of those! ^_^)* Hm, hey, this stuff is pretty good! :D NEway, back to the story......... will Bit, Kashie, Dominik, and Izumi be able to rescue Runa from the horrid Star Confederation? And why is Kashie talkin' trash about the boss of The Alliance? He can't POSSIBLY be that bad, can he? And what is to become of Runa while she's away, bleeding like hell, in the same room with the Crimson Bullet? And WHY has Zero shown her so much sympathy? Err, I dunno, why don't you read? Mebbe we'll BOTH find out! ^__^ *passes out chocolate pudding and Kudo Bars*. Oi, I had to paint a trailer... :( That took forever, but lol, I r back! :D  
  
Disclaimer: I r a happy-go-lucky girl right now, but I do not own Zoids. :) I own Runa, Midnight, the kewlie Epello Area and some other stuffk that I have already stated, and I do not feel like trying to remember all of the stuffk right now. U can read now. I'm done. ^_____^ Too busy eating chocolate pudding. Mmm... it's WAY better than these Kudo Bars... : p   
  
  
IIIII  
  
  
  
  
Four Zoids rushed out of The Alliance Hangar at once, all in a hurry. The Slashback Spino, pilot Kashie Kirazuna; The Shadow Dancer, pilot Izumi Twilight; The Blade Liger, pilot Dominik Jackson, and The Berserk Midnight Land Marlin, pilot Bit Cloud. He couldn't take the Liger 0 with him this time around... he felt that he had to return Midnight to it's rightful owner.  
  
"Okay, here we go, we're heading for coordinates -7 to 61, Quadrant II in the Epello Area. That's where The Star Confederation is--way out and obvious. Once we start going up the -7 bar in Quadrant II, it'll pretty much be in sight when we cross the 31 area on the y-axis," Bit replied, trying to explain where the base was when he had marked his map.  
  
"I'm followin'," Kashie replied. He took the lead, knowing most of the shortcuts around the areas. He had been all through Zi and back again many times. By the time they had gotten to Quadrant II, however, it had become somewhat obvious that there were five Zoids instead of four.  
  
"HEY!" shouted the pilot of the fifth Zoid. "YOU! I know who you are! I crossed paths with you when you were chasing Zero down in that Liger of yours!" She was referring to Bit, no doubt.  
  
"Wha?"  
  
"YEAH!" the young matriarch voice shouted. Izumi sighed. A face appeared on the screen in front of Bit. It was the face of a young female, one that he HAD crossed paths with.  
  
"I'm Tigra! Let me follow you, I know where you're going!" she replied.  
  
"Oh yeah? Then where ARE we going?!" Izumi shouted.  
  
"To The Star Confederation," Tigra answered. Her TerraCat ran behind the Blade Liger. "You're going to rescue a friend of yours, aren't you!?"  
  
"How do you know?" Kashie asked.  
  
"Because, I know the man who took her! Let me help you, please!" Tigra pleaded.   
  
"Don't you have somewhere to be? Won't your guardian's be worried?" Dominik asked.  
  
"Hey, for your information, I HAVE no guardians! I was orphaned at the age of two and a half, okay! From then on, anyone that I've ever been with has always abandoned me! Zero did the same thing, he ditched me as soon as he got me! Let me follow you, and help! What else have I got to lose?!" Tigra shouted.  
  
"We can't let you get hurt, sorry! You aren't tied in with The Alliance, anyway. It would just complicate things, because then The Confederation would end up getting forces from different teams, seeing as how we got you," Izumi replied.  
  
"All of this stupid stuff about... about sides, and whatnot... about wars... all of this is just shit, I'm sorry! That's all it is! If I can't help, then know this... when I die, I'll die at an early age, and I'll die alone. Why? Because I was ditched to fight war."  
  
And those were the last words that Tigra spoke before Dominik started to talk.  
  
"Anyone who feels they have to fight must." Tigra's ears perked up at hearing this, and nodded. "The good thing is that you have picked a side. If you fight for what you believe in, it is considered honorable. If you fight just for having the chance to fight alongside company, it is not considered honorable. If you don't fight, but have faith for what you believe in, and believe in those that are fighting for what you believe in, their deaths are considered honorable."  
  
"I... I get it. I'm still going to help, though," Tigra replied.  
  
  
--------+=======*;:^*^:;*=======+--------  
  
  
  
In half an hour, Tigra, Izumi, Bit, Dominik, and Kashie had come within the coordinates of The Star Confederation. They were all hiding amongst the thick trees and brush that surrounded the area. Tigra was the first to silently jump out of her Zoid. Dom jumped out of the cockpit of the Blade Liger and swiftfully landed next, and stood next to Tigra. Izumi, Bit, and Kashie came out, next.  
  
"I'll distract," Tigra decided.  
  
"Then you'll be with me," Dominik replied. Tigra nodded. She felt the white streaks in her hair slowly beginning to stand on end, ready to emit shards of ice.   
  
"Time to cut the sentiment and start the trouble I'm known for..." she muttered to herself, smirking. Izumi quietly loaded her pistol, as Kashie pulled out a strange tool used for breaking into security systems.  
  
"Might you want to arm yourself, Bit?" Dom asked.  
  
"Nah... I'm good..." Bit replied.  
  
"Okay, this is what I've come up with. Tigra, you and Dom run in to distract the guards on the count of three, and then, I'll run in with Izumi to break the security while Izumi shoots down the rest of the guards. Then, Bit, you run into The Confederation and... and then Izumi and Chemuk should follow in behind you, while the rest of us try to protect your back," Kashie explained. He felt his heart tighten up as he got ready to count down. "Okay... good luck... three... two... ONE!"  
  
  
Dominik and Tigra ran into the scene, Tigra landing foot first into one of the guards. The Confederation itself was just a large base in the form of a slug. Since it was still around 5:00 in the morning, the sun not even showing a brief sign of itself till 8:00, the moon was still quite visible. Dominik landed several hard kicks and punches toward the guards that came his way. He watched sickles of ice form from the white streaks in Tigra's hair, and fly out in random directions as she landed several drop kicks. A talent he must ask about. Then, Kashie took Izumi's hand and ran up to where the closed gate to inside The Star Confederation was.  
  
"Watch my back, okay?" he replied, and then began to connect his tool to the system to hack it. Izumi nodded, and shot at several guards.  
  
"What happens when they start bringing the Zoids in?" she asked, brushing some of the wisps of her black hair from her face.  
  
"Oh, well then they start bringing in the Zoids and everything fuckin' sucks for us," Kashie answered. Bit watched the guards fall one by one, and when he saw his opportunity, he ran through the path, and just as he had started, the gate to The Confederation had opened. Kashie and Izumi fell in after him, leaving Dominik and Tigra to finish up the work out front. When it was clear that no guards were standing, they ran in, too.   
  
"Yus, we did it!" Kashie silently cheered. "We're in!"  
  
"Yeah, but now everyone knows that there are intruders inside! We have to be sleek when we move! Come on, Chemuk, we're looking for 'Runa'!" Izumi whispered. At the mere mention of 'Runa', Chemuk instantly knew who she was looking for. Her nose met the ground, and she began sniffing for the scent of Runa, whom she knew well, for Izumi had been good friends with Runa. Bit looked behind him to see two or three unknown figures beginning to walk down the hallway that they were currently walking down. He beckoned for the other four to hide with him in the closest room that he could see. It was a weapon storage room. Perfect.   
  
"Okay, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to take Izumi and Chemuk to find Runa, while the rest of you try to figure out as much as you can about this confederation, since you obviously need to," Bit whispered.   
  
"I'm fine with that!" Izumi agreed, reloading her pistol.   
  
"Will you be okay, though?" Kashie asked. "I mean... I thought we were going to all go in on this... to-ge-ther..." he finished.  
  
"I... I know, but I sorta... feel like I want to do this one on my own... but I need Chemuk to find Runa, and Izumi and Chemuk obviously go together..." Bit replied. Kashie smirked.  
  
"That's right, that's right, I remember," he said. "Be careful, peeps."  
  
"Aye!" Izumi whispered, silently following Bit out of the storage closet with Chemuk.  
  
  
  
~--=--~--=--~--=--~--=--~--=--~--=--~--=--~  
  
  
  
  
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LOST IT!!!" Miyuki screamed at the top of her lungs. Paul scratched the back of his head and backed away at the enraged Miyuki.  
  
"Hey, hey, now, remember, I wasn't the one who left it here..." Paul said. Miyuki took a deep breath and started to pace back and forth.  
  
"Dammit, I can't believe Zero didn't take better care of Setsunakute Ii! Now she's been STOLEN! He's gonna PAY!" Miyuki shouted, gritting her teeth.  
  
"Calm down, we still have time to find it..." Paul replied. Miyuki folded her arms.  
  
"Nyah, where do you think it could be?" she asked. She was quite angered when Paul shook his head.  
  
"I bet some little punk stole it. We don't have leads or anything," he answered.  
  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, some little punk!? I'll have you know, not everyone can pilot Setsunakute Ii! You have to have special qualities, like me! Otherwise, Setsunakute Ii wouldn't go ANYWHERE!" Miyuki shouted. Paul sighed.  
  
"Well, what do you expect me to do about it?" he asked.  
  
"I expect you to get up and help me find her!" Miyuki yelled. She straightened her visor a little bit and hopped into Paul's Iron Kong, behind the seat. "Okay, I have an idea. I bet you anything that The Alliance has Setsunakute Ii. Let's go."  
  
"What!? We aren't going to The Alliance! Jean L'Petite will have us shot down!" Paul shouted. He recieved a hard glare from Miyuki.  
  
"We're going to get my Zoid back, Paul. Do you have a problem with that, or are you just an idiot?" Miyuki asked. Paul sighed and nodded. Miyuki had her times when she was even more evil than he was.  
  
  
  
^.-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-.^  
  
  
  
About halfway down the entrance hallway (which was very long, I should state), Bit was already on his own with just Izumi and Chemuk, without Kashie, Dom, or Tigra at his back. They had hidden themselves well near the entrance to shoot down any Confederation workers that might chase after them. About 70 yards of hallway stretched down and was called "the entrance" for ya, and then there was a corner to be turned.   
  
  
  
,.,.,.,..;:;:;:;:;:=+=+=+=+=+=+=+^*^*^*^+=+=+=+=+=+=+=:;:;:;:;:;..,.,.,.,  
  
  
Arizda: *passes out chocolate pudding, slim jims, twix/crunch bars, and the occasional found.on.road.dead animals for Crimson.* Hehehe... yuuusss, here we go, now we are actually INSIDE of The Star Confederation! What shall become of all da peepses? Will they get caught? How is Runa holding off? And... um... hehe, will Paul and Miyuki ever find the Setsunakute Ii? : p Well, in order to find out, yer gonna have to read on! And don't worry, this story isn't even close to it's end. : p I still have lots planned. =I O yah. Go me! 


	14. The Star Confederation - p. B: Doors

Arizda: Hihi! *munches on a Slim Jim* Lol, I had to draw out a map of The Star Confederation before I could start writing this chapter. : p I just couldn't quite visualize the whole thing into my head. :) But that's okay, at least you'll be able to get a good mental view of the inside from reading. Yeah, if the writer knows, then the reader knows! Well, if the writer is a good writer, at least... hey, yeah, that gives me an idea. On a scale from 1-10, rate my writing in your next review. ^_^ I want to see how good I am for a 13-year-old. I know, I know, I have the occasional bad vocabulary/spelling mistakes/spacing mistakes/format mistakes and such... but, I try. :D *passes out Crunch Bars, Twix Bars, and sodas* It's like a snack bar in here! whoo! w00t!  
  
  
Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, I own my own original characters, cos if I owned Zoids, I'd be freakin' rich livin' in a hotel! :) And I'd make a special series all to B/L. Yeah, go figure, I'm a big B/L fan. w00t! Y'know, I think that the entire purpose of this chapter's disclaimer was lost by that last sentence... o_o;; v_v;  
  
O yes, and to answer one of the reviews about Brad's age...:  
  
Angel -- Err, I dunno, he probably IS 17, but my sources say 34, so heh... ^_^; err... yeah. I'll just keep it that way in this ficcy. I really dunno HOW old he is... and when I look at it, 17 seems a little young for someone like him. But then again, 34 seems a little old, but hehe, now I'm just rambling! : D So let's just say he's 34. ON WIT DA FICCY!  
  
  
.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.  
  
  
  
As soon as Bit and Izumi had turned the corner, Chemuk's nose instantly went to work, frantically sniffing the ground for Runa's scent.   
  
"Yes! I think Chemuk's got a trace of her, Bit!" Izumi said happily. Her heart almost jumped when hearing the voice that spoke next.  
  
"What are you doing?" one of the personel aboard The Star Confederation asked. Bit began to bite his tongue, and then came up with the answer.  
  
"Uh, there are a few... uh, intruder's aboard... and... and we're sniffing them out!" he replied. "See, she's got the pistol to shoot them!" Bit continued, pointing to the pistol fastened securily to Izumi's waist. Izumi nodded.  
  
"Err, yeah! Yeah, yeah, and... and if that fails, the wolf will... um... eat them!" she added. The man scratched his chin, and then nodded in approval.  
  
"Yes, okay. Continue," he replied, and then walked off. When he was clearly out of sight, Izumi let out a huge sigh, and turned to Bit.  
  
"WOW, that was a good one," she replied. Bit nodded.  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"That was a pretty damn good cover... I know I wouldn't have thought of it!" Izumi told him.  
  
"Thanks," Bit replied, following her and Chemuk around the hallway. There were two new paths, and it depended on Chemuk's sense of smell where they would go. The hallway went on for about 25 yards and turned right, but it also kept going forward, for another 75 yards, and then it made it's final right turn. All of the hallways were black and dark gray marble.  
  
"Chemuk says to go down that first corner," Izumi replied. They followed Bit around the first corner, to see three separate rooms on each wall.  
  
On the left wall, there was a narrow door, narrower than the other two in the small hallway.   
  
On the right wall, there was a very large door, about the same size as the one on the wall in front of Bit. It was painted a strange orange color, unlike the narrow one, which was just a normal oak door.  
  
On the wall in front of Bit, there was a large door, same size as the orange one, that was steel.   
  
Bit turned to Izumi.  
  
"Can Chemuk tell us where to go, NOW...?" he asked. Izumi shrugged, and then looked down at her pet wolf, who looked up at her.  
  
"Well, can ya, Chemuk? Let's see ya try..." Izumi replied. Chemuk's nose once again went to the ground, trying to sniff out Runa. She whimpered after a few moments of trying. "I guess not..." Izumi said, disappointed. "Let's try the regular door. The other ones intimidate me... kinda..."   
  
"Okay. We'll go to the steel door next, okay?" Bit replied.  
  
"Aw, why the steel one? Why not the orange one?" Izumi asked, a little mad.  
  
"Because, you got to pick the first door..." Bit answered. Izumi folded her arms and followed Bit inside the regular oak door.   
  
  
*********************  
  
  
  
"Y'know, this is a bunch of crap!" Tigra whined, hiding behind Dom, who was armed with a pistol from the weapon closet. He was shooting at the random guards that were walking into the entrance. "They just keep on coming! Where are they coming from? We're gonna get caught, y'know..."   
  
"Why are you so pessimistic?" he asked, hiding in the closet, watching Kashie throw random items from another closet he had been hiding in.  
  
"I'm not really pessimistic... just right now... because it's a good time to be!" Tigra wailed, watching Dom shoot down another guard.  
  
"No, now is the time to be optimistic, the time to believe in yourself. Stop whining, Tigra, and get a gun, for crissake!" Dominik replied. Tigra pulled down the highest gun that she could reach--an M-16. Dom took one look at her and laughed. "No, no, no... hehe, you'd better put that back, wouldn't want to cause too much noise." Tigra ran back to get a pistol and began shooting random guards with Dom.   
  
  
Over on Kashie's side of the hallway, he found himself running short of items to throw. How did he know? He found it a little ridiculous when he found himself throwing crunched cans and rolled up newspapers from past days. It wasn't long before he recieved a call on his mini-console in his pocket, however. He pulled it out and flipped it open to see D-chan's face on the screen.  
  
"Kashie! Hey, can we come and help yet?" D asked.  
  
"W-wha? No! Nonono, D! I think we have this handled," Kashie replied. He almost found himself throwing the console for a minute, but he realized this before it left his hand, and picked up a small digital clock to throw, instead.  
  
"Whaddoya mean, you have it under control? Let Dalanette, Lewis and I come in and help! Come on, it'll be fun!" D pleaded.  
  
"Pfft! Fun!? D, we're trying to save Runa!" Kashie informed.  
  
"Well, DUH, that's why I said it'd be fun, dumbass!" D-chan replied. Kashie rolled his eyes and picked up a heavy box of who-knows-what to throw. Then he glanced at a larger number of guards running up to the entrance.  
  
"Listen, D, I gotta go, more guards. I'll call you when Bit brings Runa back so we can make our big getaway," Kashie replied, then clicked the console off. He glanced around the storage closet for something heavy to throw.  
  
  
.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.  
  
  
  
Zero kept on checking on Runa. It appeared to be that Crimson fell asleep with boredom trying to insult Runa any further. She, although, had cried herself to sleep. He wanted to know what she was thinking; if she was thinking of letting anything slip. Maybe she had noticed how he had been so light on her, unlike Miyuki and Paul? Suddenly, the thought of her thinking of him didn't seem to go over too well in his mind.  
  
"Hmph... she got what she got... she's with The Alliance, Zero... remind yourself that it's her own fault. Don't try to help her out in her situation..." he said to himself. He decided to try and find Paul. There WERE a few questions he would like to ask Runa. One of The Confederation members walked down the hallway, only to find Zero standing there, "guarding" the room Runa was in. "You. I don't suppose you know where Paul is?"  
  
"Actually, he left with Miyuki a little while ago to find The Setsunakute Ii. You need him for something?" the member asked. Zero just folded his arms.  
  
"Nah," he silently replied. "He just lied to me, lied through his teeth..." he mumbled. "Get back to work."  
  
"Yes, sir!" the member replied, then walked back out of the hallway. Zero decided to follow him and find something better to do than watch the girl all day. He began walking out of a narrow and winding hallway, and then opened up a small oak door. The door led to a room, and from the looks of it, the door was trying to be kept hidden. Zero pulled some dark red draparies over the oak door, and continued to walk out of the room. When he walked out, he closed the bright orange door behind him...  
  
  
  
,;,;,;,;,;,;,;,;,;,;,;,;,;,;,;,;,;,;,;,;,;,  
  
  
  
"Looks like a regular room to me, Bit..." Izumi replied, Chemuk at her side. She began to whimper a little bit, and walk around the room.  
  
"What's wrong with her?" Bit asked. Izumi shrugged.  
  
"I think she caught on to Runa's scent. Come on, let's follow her some more," she replied. Bit and Izumi walked up to the oak door and slowly pushed it open, letting Chemuk exit the room to sniff out Runa. They met a Confederation member standing in front of the orange door, his arms folded--Zero.  
  
"And what the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked, calmly. Izumi felt the need to yell at this guy.  
  
"Well, what the hell does it LOOK like we're doing!?" she asked, throwing her arms up in the air to make it seem more dramatic.  
  
"Are you disrespecting me?" Zero asked. Izumi folded her arms.  
  
"What the hell is this?! We're going our job, okay? Now leave us alone and let us finish it!" Izumi shouted. Zero sighed.  
  
"What would that job be?" he asked.  
  
"We're trying to find the intruders that got aboard The Star Confederation a few minutes ago! Didn't you hear about it?!" Izumi shouted again.  
  
"No. Explain these intruders," he demanded.  
  
"WHY THE FUCK SHOULD W--" Izumi started, but a hand was quickly placed over her mouth. Bit glanced at her and shook his head.  
  
"Well, they came in a group of five... two girls and three guys... and they brought along... a chicken... yeah, it was a dark brown chicken," Bit replied. Zero cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"Really... and do you know their names?" he asked. Izumi nodded.  
  
"Uh yeah! The guys were... um... Bite, Dominoe, and Kacey," she said.  
  
"Yup, while the two girls and the chicken were Tigriss, Izzi, and Chemara," Bit added. There was something about them that Zero didn't quite believe, but he nodded.  
  
"Right. Okay. Continue with your work. I have this part under control. Go through the steel door and continue your search there," he said. Izumi and Bit nodded and quickly opened up the steel door, ran through, and shut it. They faced each other and began to laugh.  
  
"Wow! That was another close one! Guess we'll have to get used to it, huh?" Izumi wondered. "And... Izzi?"  
  
"Well, should YOU talk... Bite? Come on, I think you could've come up with something a little bit better..." Bit replied, somewhat smirking. "Besides... I think Izzi somewhat suits you..."  
  
"Really? Well... I don't think it does..." she responded. "And if it were to be anything of a nickname, it would have to be Iz."  
  
"Well, okay then..." Bit mumbled.  
  
"Come on, Chemuk! Try to pick up Runa's scent again!" Izumi said to her wolf partner. Chemuk wailed. Izumi looked up at Bit.  
  
"Uh... you don't suppose that... waitaminute... Runa was probably somewhere behind that orange door!" she said.  
  
  
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Arizda: *passes out chocolate pudding, Kudo Bars, Twix/Crunch bars, F.O.R.D animals, Slim Jims, and peanut butter* Weeeell... this is all dandy. :) It seems as though Bit and Izumi have been able to get away with THE TRUTH! Yaaaa... and... erm... where are Brad and Leena? Lol, I don't even know ^_^;; I'll have to bring them back... and... will Kashie end up calling D-chan and the rest of the Star Team sooner than he expected? Will Runa be successfully rescued? La, well, if you read x review, you'll find out! ^____^ Thank u peeps for all of the reviews, ideas, and characters. : ) 


	15. A Thousand Thoughts

Arizda: Whee! Here ya go--chapter 15. I'm glad that this ficcy is being enjoyed. ^_^ By the way, this chapter is going to be in 1st person, Runa's point of view, as she's asleep. : p Just FYI, y'know... :) Thought it'd be nice to know. So NEway, here's the next chapter that has been wanted, right? :) Here ya'll go!  
  
  
Disclaimer: Yah. You know the drill.  
  
  
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-First Person, Runa's POV-  
  
  
  
'What have you gotten yourself into, Runa?'  
  
'You should've been prepared...'  
  
'WE...'  
  
'Oh, so now you're thinking that I'M responsible for this, too?'  
  
'You are me... we're one. I'm the body, I'm the mind, you're the subconscious... together we are one...'  
  
'Don't believe in that crap. Lies. I should have been my own self. But instead I was born a subconscious in your stupid body.'  
  
'Stop it.'  
  
'Why should I?'  
  
  
I tossed myself around in a different position a few times, trying to get the most comfort out of laying against a hard metal pole. I hated it when I fought with myself. It was like I saying I was crazy.  
  
'Oh yes, you are quite crazy indeed, Runa. Don't think that I'm blocked from hearing your thoughts. I'm inside of you, for crissake!'  
  
'Why don't you go away? Why can't you be nicer? You make me miserable! All I want to do is... is...'  
  
'Is what? What is it, huh? You've wanted to do a lot of things. *I* never held you back, not once have I done that! You just ALWAYS assume that because I keep "tormenting" you, you have to hold yourself back. Well, a load of shit that is.'  
  
'You make me miserable, though. You really do. I just want to be calm. Most people can't even hear themselves. They drown out their subconscious with other thoughts. I can't do that! I let you speak... I thought that would somehow be honorable for the both of us. I let you have a voice in my mind. Why can't you respect me? You abuse me...'  
  
'Listen to how that sounds, Runa. You're abusing YOURSELF... you even said it yourself! You said that we act as one!'  
  
'Oh, shut up!'  
  
  
It really made me think how complicated the human mind really was. I was talking to myself. I was talking to my inner self, and it was talking back. I quite frequently had conversations, though, but ones like these were quite rare. My subconscious would usually help me... remind me of things... point towards the better intention. But tormenting me was a whole different thing. I was simply tearing myself to pieces.   
  
'Now, listen to me for a sec, Runa... I've got something important to say, this time!'  
  
'Oh, yeah right! Like you EVER have anything important to say! Leave me alone!'  
  
'Naw, I think you may really want to hear this. That... that Zero guy... I think he's really taken sympathy on you. And ya know why?'  
  
'Don't be stupid...! I'm only an obstacle for them! He's... he's just like Miyuki and Paul! Why would he--'  
  
'He was soft on you, Runa. Didn't you see the way he looked at you? He felt sorry for you, and he wanted you to feel sorry for yourself. So, do you?'  
  
'What do you mean!? Why would I--'  
  
'Now you're just being dense, Runa.'  
  
'What?'  
  
'Yeah, I think we just might have to put on a little play next time he comes around! You should wake up! I'll help ya with what to say! Then, maybe you can get him to get that wacko Bullet guy away, and free you!'  
  
'He can't have THAT much sympathy for me! Come on, now!'  
  
'No, no, no, he has quite a bit for you. Just turn it around and hit him with it!'  
  
'But... I don't want to take it for granted or anything like that... do I?'  
  
'Ah, see? Now look whose side you're on!'  
  
'Are you trying to say that I'm on YOUR side? Just a minute ago you were against that--'  
  
'Nah, I'm with every side except the wrong one, now come on, let's start getting a plan.'  
  
'Wait, how many sides are there? There can't be too many, can there?'  
  
'Runa, we ain't got much time to think this out! Who knows when Zero's coming back?'  
  
  
Then, he suddenly came into my thoughts, rather unexpectedly. Sure enough, I replayed that scene where he chained my arms behind the pole. He had done it ever so gently... and he had looked at me, as if he knew that I had hope. And he even saved me from getting shot at more than what I had already been. I had been scared shitless, instead, but that was better than being shot at. I remembered his eyes, which I had seen faintly through his blue tinted sunglasses. They were light green, a lot like Bit's. He probably considered me as still a 'kid', or a 'child'.  
  
'Hey... I have a question...'  
  
'Oh, fine time for you to bring it up now! I was just studying the emotions in your last thoughts...'  
  
'I told you I didn't want you doing that. Anyway... do you think he thinks of me as... well, maybe a kid? And maybe he feels sorry for me because of that?'  
  
'I wouldn't know, Runa. Do you wanna ask him?'  
  
'What? Why would I do that? Seems hella stupid... doesn't it?'  
  
'No... not exactly. Just, when he comes in, be forward about it. Ask him. Only if he's alone, though. Just ask. Say something along the lines of "You... have sympathy for me, don't you? Is it because I'm still a kid to you?" And if he says it's because you're a girl, sock it to him once you get the chance. Girl's don't, or at least shouldn't, take shit from anyone.'  
  
'All right... I'll do what you say. I hope it's the right thing to say, though... what if he doesn't have sympathy for me, at all?'  
  
'Oh, now you KNOW that isn't true!'  
  
  
Well, of course I was right. Yeah, it wasn't true, because he obviously had SOME kind of pity for me. Why, though, I probably would never figure out. Maybe... maybe I was coming on to him? There's always a little chance of that...  
  
'WHAT!? NO THERE ISN'T! There is NO chance of that EVER HAPPENING!'  
  
'Haha, why not? Who knows? Mebbe I AM coming on to him! He is kinda--'  
  
'DON'T EVEN MENTION IT, Runa! I do NOT want to hear about that! There is no WAY that I would let that happen!'  
  
'Hey, it's my fuckin' me, so shut up about it! I can do whatever the hell I damn well freakin' wanna do! Ja!'  
  
  
And that was it. End of conversation. If I wanted to like him, I could. Maybe THAT was how I could get him to help me! Yes... because who knows what The Alliance is doing right now... whether they're currently trying to rescue me, have no idea that I'm gone, or... or just don't care. Maybe she really did have to do it all on her own. It was all up to her, she guessed.  
  
'Well... I guess if I have to do it by myself, then I will. Ya hear that?'  
  
'Oh, of course... how could I NOT hear it...?'  
  
  
And like NOW was the time for my subconscious to be sarcastic... well, I am glad that I learned how to converse mentally with it... I'm glad that I learned the art of meditation... I'm glad. Because if I didn't have myself to talk to, I don't know what I would've done by now. I'm greatful, that's what I can say.  
  
'Greatful, ya? Greatful, huh? Oi...'  
  
'So this is what the true me is like, deep down inside...'  
  
'Hey, eh, eh, eh, don't even go there! An' anyway, how are you plannin' to get Zero on your side to help you? Huh? How do you expect to get out on your own?'  
  
'I said that it was my me! So... I guess I'll just have to play it like I'm... well...'  
  
'You aren't going to pretend that you're in love, are you?'  
  
'I think that's a pretty good plan, thanks for giving me the idea!'  
  
  
Yeah. That was a good plan. I could settle for that. If there was one thing that I could do right, it was act. I could fool a lot of people. Love should come easy, anyway. I was a sucker for it. I could do the sappy-eye thing, I could do the flirtatious thing, I could do it all... even though I had never had a boyfriend in my life. Well hey, I had tried. When they all found out that I was tied in with what I am, well, they ditched me... oh well.  
  
'Eh, what was that!?'  
  
'What was what?'  
  
'Listen closely...'  
  
  
And so I did. I listened. I could hear the door slightly creaking open, and a few buttons being pressed on the wall. I didn't dare open my eyes, however. I could hear Crimson Bullet's cage slowly returning to it's spot underneath the floor, and I could feel the pole sliding down my back. What was going on!? Before I could find out, I felt the chains on my wrists being roughly cut with an odd knife. Then, I felt warm hands on my cheeks, and soon... I felt someone's lips. I opened up my eyes after the kiss was broken, and my heart almost jumped out my chest. I wanted to gasp, but I couldn't even do that, I was so surprised.  
  
"Oh Bit!" I cried. Literally. I began sobbing. How? I didn't understand anything anymore. He kissed me again.  
  
"I... I took one look at you... and I couldn't keep it in," he whispered to me.  
  
"Get me out of this place!" I screamed. Bit held tightly onto my hand, and led me to one of the walls behind the place I had been sitting. He pressed a button, and a door appeared. He opened it, and Izumi and Chemuk were standing there, waiting for me.  
  
  
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Arizda: *nods* Expect some luv octagons pretty soon. : p But I won't give away the ending couple, NOPE! You'll just have to read the whoooooooooooooole ficcy to find out. ^_^ And... well, this chapter didn't turn out as good as I wanted it to... :\ Oh well, next one should/could/might be better. :D *passes around snacks*. :) Please read and review. Yeah, you're probably all mad at me, now, huh? : | 


	16. The Star Confederation - p.C: Escape

Arizda: Yah, I guessed that my rating on 1-10 would be an 8. : p NEway, sorry about the underdevelopment of some of the characters... namely D-chan and Dalanette. They were supposed to be major characters in upcoming chapters.... ^_^; Hehe... I'll see if I can get them more "developed" before chapter 20. :) *passes out snacks* ok. Here ya'll go!  
  
  
Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah, if you're a regular reader, then you know how this goes... lol.  
  
  
  
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"Izumi! Izumi, you're here, too!?" Runa cried, happily. Izumi smirked and threw her arms up in the air.  
  
"Yah! Sure am! Kashie and a few others are, too! Come on, let's go!" she replied, and then started running down the hallway that they were presently in. It was extremely dark, was coated with slight condensation. It also went straight *down*.   
  
"Wasn't there security or something?" Runa asked.  
  
"Not by the entrance where we found you!" Bit replied. The hallway was about 30 yards before the first obstacle was clearly in front of them.   
  
"Wow... a door..." Izumi muttered. Chemuk paced in front of the dark steel door, waiting for one of her human friends to do something. Runa placed her hand on the door. She stared at it with immense concentration, obviously, Bit and Izumi seeing beads of sweat forming on her forehead.  
  
'It's cooling... it's freezing... we're in the Arctic... the chill is freezing it...' she thought. She had done this before. It was in her psychi classes she took last year. Question was--could she do it again?  
  
'Oh, this again, Runa?'  
  
'Yeah, come on, you can help me with it again, right?'  
  
'The test was over a year ago. What do you want me to do?'  
  
'Help me! Pleeeeaaase! I can get outta this place if you just help me get this thing frozen!'  
  
'Aaaah, cyrokinesis... well, in my opinion, it's better than using pyrokinesis, so yeah, I'll help.'  
  
Bit and Izumi stared in awe as the steel door in front of them slowly began to freeze. Then, after a few seconds of hard concentration, Runa opened her arms and smiled. Then, she rammed it, and it shattered.  
  
"On to freedom!" she sang, tightly gripping Bit's hand.   
  
  
+=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=+  
  
  
  
"Woo hoo!" Kashie yelled, throwing hard... hardware at the rest of the guards that had been coming towards him. The weapon storage closet across the hallway, where Dominik and Tigra were, was slowly emptying, seeing as how Dom and Tigra had to frequently reload their pistols.   
  
"Hey, I think that was the last of them! Better call the rest of your team before it's too late! I think I see Bit and Izumi coming down the hallway!" Tigra called. Kashie's ears perked up.  
  
"With Runa!?" he asked. He waited for Tigra's voice once again.  
  
"With Runa!" she answered.   
  
"YUSS!" Kashie shouted, throwing his arms up in the air. He quickly took his mini-console out of his pocket and pressed the re-dial button.  
  
"CAN WE COME, NOW!?" came the eager voice of D.  
  
"YES, DAISURI, YOU CAN COME! BRING DALANETTE AND LEWIS!" Kashie yelled to the console.  
  
"WHEEEEEEEEEE!" D-chan shouted. The screen immediately went blank, and Kashie shoved it back into his pocket. He stood up and armed himself with a good piece of thwacking metal.  
  
  
  
It was a pretty good showdown--The Star Confederation's front line of defense against just a few people... Kashie, Dominik, Tigra, Bit, Izumi, Runa, Lewis, Dalanette, and D-chan. The Confederation had a really good defense set up for such a quickie situation--A good line of Gustavs, two lines of Demantis', and a short line of Pteras. The battle was too sloppy to explain, really... random firing here and there. But one of the biggest sights was the twin particle cannon shot from Dalanette's Darkness Panther. Two birds with one stone, literally; two Pteras' were taken out. 15 minutes, give or take a few, and the defense line was out. D-chan led everyone out of the area with the Starbuddy Penguin.   
  
"We have a whole two Quadrants to cross, so be quick and careful, since we'll still probably have a few of The Confederation's defense Zoids on our tail! They're a minor assault, but that's not the point!" D-chan repiled, taking control of the group. She was known for being a leader, hence the name "Daisuri Hiramoto" under the "Leader" section of the Star Team member profiles.   
  
"How are you holding off, Runa?" Dalanette asked, being the one who usually kept the group together.  
  
"I'm fine... thanks to you guys," Runa answered.  
  
"Thanks to Bit and Kashie," Dominik answered.  
  
"Agreed..." Tigra said. Izumi smirked.  
  
"I'll have to admit, I was just backup in their plan," she replied.  
  
"No, it was all of you. I thank you again... I was so stupid... stupid enough to get caught by the enemy team. I can't believe someone would waste their time on such a worthless soldier like m--"  
  
"Don't let their talk get to you, Runa. You are not a worthless soldier. You know who you are. You are NOT worthless, in fact, you ARE the best The Alliance has. It doesn't matter what anyone else says... it doesn't matter what anyone else has. You're the only one who ever passed the first given mission, correct?" Dom asked.   
  
"Well... d-does that really matter?" Runa asked.  
  
"Of course it does!" Dalanette replied. "It means just about everything. If it weren't for YOU, we wouldn't have been the top team in The Alliance."  
  
"It should be you in the leader position... not me..." D said softly.  
  
"D-chan! Don't say that! You have every right to be in the position of leader!"  
  
"Come on now, everyone is all in their respectful positions. Don't bicker over them. Runa just... well... it's not that she's BETTER than anyone else. She just... well... I dunno. What do you think it is, Runa?" Lewis asked. Runa really didn't feel comfortable with talking about her being better than anyone else. In truth, she really didn't think of herself like that.   
  
"I... I don't know," Runa said, meekly.  
  
"Don't torment her... I'm sure this is the last thing she wants to talk about," Dalanette said. "And I KNOW that I shouldn't necissarily kept it going, but we shouldn't continue this topic..."  
  
  
  
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"What do you mean, he chased after them and never came back!? He HAD to have come back! Where did he go!?" Leena shouted, terrified. Doc sighed and buried his face in his hands. Him, Jamie, Leena, and Brad were sitting at the dining room table, the dimmed light being the only one on in the hover cargo.  
  
"Bit left to go after Runa, you see? And... he left right after she was taken, and he hasn't come back, yet..." Doc explained. Leena whined.  
  
"What if he doesn't come back!?"  
  
"He'll be back..." Brad replied. "He'll be back with Runa, too."  
  
"How can you be so sure?" Jamie asked. "What if he DOESN'T get Runa? He doesn't know a thing about where she comes from, or where the people that took her came from!"  
  
"Calm down. He'll come back sometime today. Maybe tonight. Who knows how far he could've gone?" Doc wondered.  
  
"THAT'S RIGHT! Who KNOWS how far he went!? What if he got lost?!" Leena wailed.  
  
"Leena, why do you care?" Brad asked.  
  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, WHY DO I CARE!? How can I not care?" Leena asked.  
  
"Well, with all do respect, I thought you were bent on being a bitch around him," Brad answered. "I mean, after all, you have to admit... you did BITE on him quite a bit."  
  
"WE CAN'T JUST SIT HERE!!! We have to go and get Bit!" Leena cried.  
  
"Leena, pleeeease calm down! Let him come back! The last thing we need is someone else getting lost! Uh... not that I'm saying that Bit's lost or anything, by the way..." Doc said, being careful as to what he said in front of his hysterical daughter. Leena sighed.  
  
'Maybe I should give it up and stop acting so hysterical...' she thought to herself. Indeed, it was just a tad bit ridiculous when she began to scream and yell. 'All I want to do is find you, Bit Cloud. Where did you go? When will you come back? ... Will you come back?'  
  
  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
  
  
Bit took one last look around The Alliance before he left. He didn't want to stay, either. Horrible how certain people could start "cults" like these. However, The Alliance did seem to be much less of a "cult" then The Confederation. All the same though, it really was. Just the sides. The Alliance did all of the hard work while The Confederation tried to butt in and say that they did it. Selfish people deserve to die.  
  
Bit wandered into Runa's chambers, where she held her younger brother in a tight hug.  
  
"Thank you so much, Kashie... I certainly owe you and Bit one... well, three for Bit, now..." Runa mumbled. Kashie shook his head.  
  
"I did it not because you were taken, Runa... I did it because you're my sister. Brothers and sisters love each other, right? I wouldn't have let you stay there... I wouldn't give a damn about The Alliance's orders. You're my sister... I was afraid, Runa..." Kashie said. "I was afraid that you wouldn't come back... I didn't want you to not come back..."  
  
Runa gave her brother the last few moments of the hug, and then let him go.  
  
"Go get some sleep. You need it, you look tired. I'll make sure that the rest of today goes smoothly for you," she replied.  
  
"Heh, even though The Confederation is going to be bombing the hell out of us, right? Surely we can stand up to their not-so-tough Zoids..." Kashie confirmed, yawning. Runa nodded. Kashie left, and Bit walked in. Runa didn't know what to say. She instantly walked into the embrace that was waiting for her.   
  
"Why did you do it?" she asked. "You know that you just risked your life for someone you don't know nearly as well as you would like to..."  
  
"Haven't you already guessed?" Bit asked.  
  
"Oh, I know," Runa said, putting her arms around his waist, so her could hold her in the embrace. "But why? You know that I would've been devestated if you were hurt... now... now I owe you three..." she said with almost a smirk. Bit gave her a smile and gave her butterfly kisses all the way from her cheek down to her collar bone. Something told Runa that she wanted him to stop, but she ignored the feeling, for she knew that it wasn't true.  
  
'Runa...!'  
  
'Go away...'  
  
Runa recieved another line of butterfly kisses, this time, making her shiver, to a light extent. She smiled.  
  
"You can cut the light crap any time now..." she told him.  
  
'Hey, I hope you know what you're getting yourself into...'  
  
'Didn't I tell you go away? I happen to be falling for him, y'know!'  
  
'Mebbe that's what YOU think...'  
  
'Which means it's what YOU think... hey, and what do you mean?'  
  
'You'll figure it out the hard way, seeing as though you REFUSE to stop toying around. Don't you know when to follow subconscious's roadmap?'  
  
Runa blinked in confustion a few times just as Bit's face met hers. She put a finger to his lips as he was about to kiss her.  
  
"Bit..." she said, a little disappointed. "Not to be rude or anything, but I think there's something wrong..."  
  
  
;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;  
  
  
Arizda: Oh yah, like, what could it POSSIBLY be, now? Lol. Only more problems for Runa... -_- Anyway, how will OC Starbuddy *me* develop D-chan and Dalanette, bringing in the information the readers need to know about them? Heh, lol. And... and what's going to happen to Zero, him being responsible for Runa? UH OH SHE'S GONE! I think hell's gonna be raised in a strange form when Tsuki finds out! Ah, yeah, I bet you all forgot about him, yah? Well... NEway, stay on the edge for the next chapter! And as always... *passes out snacks* READ and REVIEW! ^____^ 


	17. I think I see a polygon forming

Arizda: Mmmhmm... yes... where we left off, Runa and her subconscious had felt something wrong with the little bit of romancing there... hehe yes, behold my stupid pun. And why does Bit consider The Alliance and The Confederation both as "cults", even though The Alliance is community-friendly? Does he see the benefit of the missions that they do? I'll try to answer most questions in this chapter! :) Possible flashbacks, by the way, so be prepared!  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Blah. You know how it goes. I got tired of saying this a long time ago. : p  
  
  
  
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"What's wrong?" Bit wondered, feeling as though his heart might break at any moment. Runa gave him a lopsided frown.  
  
"I'm not sure," she replied.  
  
'Fuck you, look at the position I'm in now!'  
  
'Eh, eh, eh, simmah down nah! I'll figure out what's going on, you just try to explain to 'im some... uh, I dunno, stuffk. Let your sixth sense handle it, Runa...'  
  
'...Weellll... okay...'  
  
"Hm..." Runa said, quietly. "I guess The Alliance aura has kinda got me paranoid again..."  
  
"What is it that's so good about The Alliance? I just don't see it," Bit spoke, wondering why she stuck around a place like this.  
  
"Picture it as the Good Guy side, Bit. We do missions and stuff that will benefit the whole Zoid community on Zi. We're community-friendly. That's what we do. Each successful line of missions that we complete brings something new to the people of Zi. We aren't... bad," Runa answered. Bit held her tighter.  
  
"What brought you here, in the first place?" he asked. Runa sighed.  
  
  
~*f*l*a*s*h*b*a*c*k*~  
  
  
It was a bright day outside, really. Runa and Kashie were just messing around, as usual, chasing after snakes and rabbits in the garden behind their house. The house that never had guardians around. This day was different from others in the fact that The Alliance was secretly under attack.  
  
"What's that noise!?" Kashie shouted, immediatley after hearing the front door to the house slam. Runa looked up. Her 9-year-old mind at this point hadn't yet understood the fact that her parents were with The Alliance.  
  
"I... I dunno!" Runa replied, worried, being her paranoid self, even at the age of 9. "You stay here, I'll go check it out!" And with that, she ran back into the house through the back door. "D-dad?" she asked, her father srounging up several things from the kitchen counter.  
  
"Runa," he replied, "here, you take these." He handed Runa a file of papers. "Take Daddy's Zoid, and bring Kashie. Let the Command Wolf find The Alliance, and take the papers to Jean Pierre L'Petite."  
  
"Wha? Where are you going?" Runa asked.  
  
"Away. Mommy and I have... we've been sent somewhere else. We have to go. We promise to write to you or call you every once in a while," her father said, trying to make it seem like she would see him again.  
  
"What?! I don't understand! Why are you going?!" Runa shouted.  
  
  
~*e*n*d***f*l*a*s*h*b*a*c*k*~  
  
  
"And... yeah, they left. The papers turned out to be papers signifying that Kash and I would be Alliance members as soon as we could. As soon as I was in, which was just a day after Kashie and I had arrived, I started constructing my Zoid... Midnight. A little while later, when I was maybe 13, I asked Jean what had happened to my parents. He said that they had done poorly in The Alliance, and they had been sent away. To where, he wouldn't tell me. And... I... I never heard from them. I never got my letters that I was promised, or my calls... I don't know if they're even alive, anymore..." Runa explained.  
  
'Aw, how sentimental, a sad story and someone to cry on... well, anyway, I've figured it out. There seems to be a tangle in your emotions!'  
  
'What the hell is that supposed to mean...?'  
  
"I... I really don't know what to say. I wouldn't think that they would kill the members who failed, right...?" Bit asked. He frowned when he heard Runa sobbing. She clutched his jacket.  
  
"I miss them," she mumbled.  
  
'I know who you really miss...'  
  
'Oh, shut up! Can't you see I'm a mess, right now?!'  
  
'You were right, when we were conversing in The Confederation... as much as I hate to admit.'  
  
'I'm afraid that I don't understand...!'  
  
'I'll tell you when you aren't *leeched* to this fine man...'  
  
'Shut up...'  
  
"Why do you stay, then? Why don't you take Kashie and go somewhere else? Isn't it a burden to have all of these... 'missions' on your back all the time?" Bit asked.  
  
"I don't know, I don't want to talk about it anymore..." Runa sobbed. "Y-you should really go, now. Won't your friends be worried?"  
  
"I... yeah, I guess. Will you call?" he asked.  
  
"Of course."  
  
'Of course you will, Runa...'  
  
'Why can't you leave me alone!?'  
  
'Hmph, fine, be that way. I see how it is... nyea...'  
  
Runa slid out of Bit's embrace, and stumbled backwards onto her bed. She looked up at him before he silently left her room, without a word.  
  
"I hope I didn't hurt him..." she whispered to herself.  
  
'Oh, I bet you only mildly broke his heart...'  
  
"Why don't you ever stop saying stuff like that?"  
  
'Hey, you're gonna have to deal with it. Anyway, I think you're toggling back and forth between two men, my dear Arunamei-chan.'  
  
"WHAT!?"  
  
'Yeah. You remember the other one, don't you? Mm, handsome guy, has sympathy towards a certain Kirazuna female, namely you, ooooh yes, you fell for him. A 6-foot-deep hole for him, but for this Bit guy... I'd like to say somewhere around a 10-foot-hole. You wuuuuuv him!'  
  
"Knock it off! Leave me alone, I'm going to sleep!"  
  
'Fine... that's just fine with me.'  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
It had been a somewhat short, somewhat long walk back to the Blitz Team hover cargo. Bit sighed, walking in through the hangar. He looked up at the Liger 0.  
  
"I'm back," he said, silently. The Liger gave a soft roar in response to this. Nodding, Bit proceeded into the hover cargo.  
  
"BIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" Leena shouted, running up to hug the "friend" she thought would never come back. "YOU'RE BACK!" she said happily. Bit was shocked, surprised, and a little amused. Why Leena had been acting so weird over the last few days, he didn't know.  
  
"Leena! I-it's good to see you, too..." he mumbled. Upon hearing Leena's shout, Brad walked in the hangar to see both her and Bit.  
  
"Where have you been?" he asked.  
  
"I went to save Runa, where else?" Bit replied. Brad cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"Where is she, now?" he further questioned.  
  
"She's back at The Alliance--where she belongs. Why, why do you care? You seemed to hate her pretty much..." Bit said. Brad folded his arms.  
  
"Maybe I decided to change my mind on that..." he replied.  
  
"Well, anyway, do you suppose that's the last that we'll see of The Alliance?" Leena asked, letting go of Bit. He shrugged.  
  
"I don't know. I don't know if I want to see it, or if I don't..."  
  
"What do you mean by that!? Isn't The Alliance some kind of group, like the Backdraft?" Brad asked.  
  
"N-no! It's actually the exact opposite! They're a community-friendly organization, it seems. They do missions to benefit the community of Zi! The Confederation tried doing that, and I guess they couldn't, so what they do now is try to take the credit for themselves," Bit explained.  
  
"And how do you know all of this?" Leena asked.  
  
"Runa told me," Bit simply said.   
  
"Well, anyway, there's someone here who came to visit you. Don't ask me why, either, because I won't be able to tell you," Brad replied. He led Bit and Leena to the living room, where the ever-so-familiar face of D-chan greeted Bit.  
  
"Hi-hi!" she said, smiling. Her red eyes intimidated Bit to no end. This, however, was the first time he actually got the chance to mark down D's appearance. Her short black hair and red eyes seemed to give her a scary appearance, while her black dress, just decked out in white lace, seemed to make her more cute-scary. Other than the dress being decked out in lace, it had a fairly good amount of ribbons, too. D-chan had a black headband with four black ribbons tied around it settled neatly in her hair.  
  
"What do you want?" Bit asked. D-chan rested her elbow on the arm of the couch.  
  
"Oh, nothin' much. I'd really thought I'd come by to say hi," she replied. Bit folded his arms.  
  
"No you didn't," he simply said.  
  
"Ooookay, so you're right. That's not what I came over to say. I wanted to tell you that The Alliance is under attack. Will you come help us fight The Confederation? Please?" D-chan pleaded.  
  
"I don't exactly see why I SHOULD," Bit replied, bitterly. D-chan frowned, crossing her legs.  
  
"Fine, if you wanna be that way, do it for Runa. They're still gonna be after her, Bit. None of us ever stopped that. We have a number of things they want: the information, Runa, and The Setsunakute Ii. Why we took it, I don't know. But please say that you'll come fight with us," she pleaded once again.  
  
"If Bit will," Leena began, "then so will I." Bit casted a glance in Leena's direction. She usually stood tall in her words.  
  
"Fine. In that case, I guess I will, too," Brad replied. Bit wasn't quite sure if he wanted to get his friends into this. It was turning into a war, and for all he knew, they could die. But something itched on him to say yes.  
  
"Okay. I will."  
  
"Great. Now, get some sleep. We'll call you when we get sight of them. Thanks, guys," D-chan replied, then began to walk off.  
  
"Wait!" Bit called.  
  
"Yes?" D-chan spoke, inches from the door.  
  
"Why do they call you D-chan instead of Daisuri?" Bit wondered. D-chan smirked.  
  
"Sorry, that's gonna stay Classified until later. Don't worry, though, I'll let you in on it, someday," she said with a wink, walking out of the hover cargo.  
  
  
  
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'  
  
  
Arizda: *passes out snacks* Hm..... this is beginning to get interesting, even in MY eyes. I wonder what I will make happen, next! :D I see a polygon forming, here... :) hehehehehe... but with who? Well diddly ho dandy, isn't it obvious? Expect to see some real familiar characters pop up in future chapters, too, by the way. Hehe, cos without them, luv polygons just wouldn't be complete... NEway, please continue to read x review! :) *looks at reviews w/ characters* WOW... this means more chapters, and a lengthier story. It's all good though... :) 


	18. Preparation for War

Arizda: Oi, finally this is done! I'm back to mai home in Cali :) So I did this chapter in a hurry, since I started it at like, 8:00 PM. Whee, the luv polygons have begun to make their shape known to the world! Wheeeeeee! *passes around snacks* Okay, REEEEAAAD! :D  
  
  
Disclaimer: I own NOOOOOTHING except what I've already stated. :) There. I said it. Blah.   
  
  
  
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''  
  
  
  
8:30 AM  
  
  
  
"WHERE IS SHE!?" Paul shouted, holding a gun to the side of Zero's head.  
  
"She... she's in 'the room', isn't she?" Zero replied. Miyuki folded her arms, while Paul, at her side, shook his head. She glared at him.  
  
"Not ONLY has my Zoid been taken by The Alliance, because of you, might I add, but YOU LET HER GET AWAY!? How could you have let her escape!?" Miyuki shouted.  
  
"She's gone!? I didn't know that!! I was here, standing in front of the door the whole time! I had no idea she was getting out!" Zero yelled back. Suddenly, Paul's eyes narrowed.  
  
"You helped her get out, didn't you? That's the only way possible! You HELPED her get out!!" he shouted, enraged.  
  
"N-no! I... I did no such thing! I didn't make any kind of contact with her since the time we were trying to get answers from her!" Zero replied.  
  
"Then we go back and get her. This time, she will die if we don't get answers. We'll hold her hostage. Definately a better plan than our last one. We'll also get Setsunakute Ii. But something tells me that YOU should stay behind..." Miyuki growled.  
  
"Seriously. This should knock your rank down quite a bit..." Paul mumbled. Zero narrowed his eyes.  
  
"You want me to bring her back? Fine, I'll get her back. Just watch me," he replied with a snarl. He readjusted his glasses, and began to march out of The Confederation.  
  
"Grr... HEY, YOU GET BACK HERE!" Miyuki shouted, clenching her fist.  
  
"Let him go. He won't be coming back," Paul replied. Miyuki glanced at Paul. "He'll fail. We'll send him out of The Confederation."  
  
  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
  
  
'So you really have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?'  
  
'Please, leave me alone. I need to rest. I have four arm wounds, and The Confederation will be attacking soon, and they'll be after me.'  
  
'Runa, I swear. If you knew what was good for you, you'd--'  
  
"FINE!"  
  
Runa opened her eyes up, surprised that she had yelled aloud. She slowly closed her eyes, once again.  
  
'You're in lo-ove, with two peeps! I might add that one has continued to save your hide, and he has fallen for you, while the other has taken pity upon you, but is on the opposing side. What do you think?'  
  
'What do you mean, "what do I think"? What am I supposed to think...?'  
  
'Well, am I right?'  
  
'I dunno, I thought YOU were in charge of deciding all of that.'  
  
'Well, okay, maybe I am. Bit seems to care for you an awful lot. He's... sweet. While, you seem to be coming onto Zero. I feel rather sorry for Bit.'  
  
Tears welded up in Runa's eyes. It would all go away soon, she would hope. Everything would just clear up on itself. Well, she knew that it wasn't going to happen that way.  
  
  
  
================================  
  
  
  
Jamie woke up, quite tired, and went to the front door, where a loud knocking was going against the door. He opened it to see a friendly, familiar face, smiling. It was the older, female face of The Red Comet.  
  
"G'morning, Jamie, is Brad awake, yet? You look really tired," Naomi replied. Jamie blinked a few times to clear his eyes up, and then gave a sarcastic smile.  
  
"Hah. You'll probably be able to get him up. Just about everything else has..." he replied.  
  
"Everything else? What else has been going on?" Naomi asked.   
  
"Myeeeeeeeh, ask Brad, I'm gonna go back to sleep..." Jamie said, tiredly. He walked back into his room, inviting Naomi into the hover cargo.  
  
  
  
"So... so this girl just got you involved?" Naomi asked.  
  
"Well, something tells me that she wasn't trying to, but it happened. Bit just had to keep tagging behind her, making sure she was okay. Something ELSE tells me that he's 'getting into her', if you catch my drift," Brad replied. Naomi slightly giggled, and nodded.  
  
"By what you've told me, it certainly seems that way," she answered. She was seated next to Brad on the couch in the living room of the hover cargo. "And I'm sorry that I came so early this morning--I wouldn't have come till the afternoon if I knew what had been going on with you guys..."  
  
"Not a problem, Naomi. What did you need, anyway?" Brad wondered. Naomi bit her tongue. She raked her mind to figure out why she had come in the first place.  
  
"Uh... hehe, I can't remember...!" she said, sheepishly. Brad slightly rolled his eyes.  
  
"Now that I think about it, why did we let D-chan in the hover cargo?" he mumbled.   
  
"Huh?" Naomi asked. Brad shook his head mildly.  
  
"Nothing. Just thinking. I didn't have much of a say on whether to let her in or not. She came to the front door... Doc talked with her for a few minutes, and let her in. Why? I bet she has a bug somewhere..." he went on.  
  
"Don't ya think you're overrating her just a little bit?" came the sleepy voice of Bit, who had walked into the kitchen, getting something to drink.  
  
"Hey, go snoop into someone else's conversation," Brad replied. Bit shrugged, and walked off with a steaming cup of cider. He rather liked the bitter taste of it, compared to most other things. He walked down the hallway, down to his own room, brushing up against Leena on the way.  
  
"Whoops, sorry," he mumbled, meekly. Leena gave him a bright smile.  
  
"That's okay," she muttered back to him. Bit was confused. The NORMAL Leena would snap back at him He had to figure out why she was being so... *nice*.  
  
"Leena," he began, following her out to the kitchen, "you've been awful... nice to me in the past few days."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.   
  
"Err, I was just wondering... is there something wrong? Did... did I do something?" Bit asked. Leena turned to him and smiled.  
  
"I still don't know what you mean," she replied, giving him a small kiss on the cheek.  
  
'So THAT'S what it was... what am I gonna say to Leena about Runa...?' Bit thought. Leena stared at Bit's face for a few seconds, giggling at the way his face was turning red.  
  
"Hehe..." Bit muttered, walking back to his room. Leena smiled once again, and proceeded to the kitchen.  
  
  
  
++++++++++++++++++++  
  
  
  
"Umm... Runa? Are you gonna be okay?" Izumi asked, watching her friend run from the bathroom back to her own chambers. Runa resettled herself back in bed.  
  
"Oh yeah, sure, I'll be fine," she answered, sarcastically. "I just saw what little breakfast I had in a regurgitated form fall from my mouth into the toilet..."  
  
"If you're throwing up, I wouldn't suggest fighting the war, Runa," Izumi replied.  
  
"Nah, it's just through stress. I shouldn't be doing it again..." Runa said back, snuggling up underneath her bed sheets. Izumi sighed.  
  
"Oooookay..." she said. She began walking down the hallway when someone jumped out and grabbed her from a storage closet and pulled her back in. He had his hand over her mouth, and held her tightly, making sure she wouldn't run away.  
  
"Listen," he began in his deep voice. "I need to know where Runa is." Izumi was yelling muffled yells through the hand over her mouth. Just then, something black, hairy, and about the size of her own head dropped from a thin silvery line from the ceiling. She froze. Then, she let out a blood-curdling, death-defying, loud scream that sent shivers down the man's spine. Izumi broke free of his grasp and ran out of the closet. She didn't get far, however, for the large spider she had seen scared her to the point of fainting. The young man--Zero--stepped out of the closet, sighed, and when the spider reached the ground, he stepped on it, hearing it crunch.  
  
  
Upon close observation, Zero found Runa's room to be not far from the hallway storage closet. He stood in the doorway to see her snuggled up, the blankets tightly wrapped around her figure and in a pile of soft, plush pillows. He slowly approached her.  
  
"W-why are you here!?" Runa asked, slowly awakening. Her eyes quickly fluttered open as Zero stood in front of her. Runa sat up. There was something about the way that Runa didn't reach for the gun two feet away from her on the night table next to the bed that made Zero feel a bit strange.  
  
"So you aren't even going to arm yourself?" he asked her. Runa lightly nibbled on her index finger's knuckle out of nervousness. Then she glanced at the gun to her left, sighed, and shook her head.  
  
"It's something about you..." she started. "I don't know what it is... but... it's something... and I get this weird sense... I... maybe it's almost... that... I *trust*... you aren't here to take me, are you?" she asked, looking up at him. Zero was at a loss for words. He didn't know how to say that he didn't know why he was here anymore. Was he going to take her in? Or was he going to stay and fight with The Alliance against The Confederation. He had a feeling in his gut about Runa. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it.  
  
"Runa... I..."  
  
That right there told Runa that he wasn't about to do anything to hurt her. She was a little confused, however. She didn't know what he was trying to say.  
  
"I have something to say to you... and... I really think you should know this. It might mean a lot to you, or it might make you shoot me when you piece it together," he replied. Runa was going to take her chances. She slowly stood up.  
  
"Zero, I have something to tell YOU... don't tell me anything until I finish," she replied.   
  
'So, that search party finally found your courage, eh?'  
  
'Not now, please not now. I'm doing this for YOUR sake.'  
  
Runa slowly slid her arms around Zero's neck, and gave him a short, but passionate kiss. Something she'd been wanting to do for a while now.   
  
"I think I love you," she said slowly, placing her hands on his shoulders. He looked down at her and stared into her blue eyes.  
  
"Runa... what you piece together is going to hurt you... it's going to hurt a lot... I can tell you that much right now," he said, sadly. Runa didn't have the slightest idea what he meant.  
  
"Tell me... what do you mean...?" she asked. She wanted to fall into his arms at the moment, but instead, fell back on her bed.  
  
"Where's the console room...? I'll show you. You might not like it..."  
  
  
  
  
Runa led Zero to the console room, where he promptly typed in his ID#. Runa almost choked on the air she was breathing when she saw the screen.  
  
  
  
ZACK "ZERO" COOPER  
  
RELEASED  
AS OF THREE PAST YEARS, MARCH 22ND  
  
  
  
"Y-y-you mean that YOU used to work for The Alliance?!" she screamed. Zero turned away from her and sighed.  
  
"They sent me away to the Confederation... because the work I was doing here wasn't good enough for them. I was failing..." he replied. Runa raked her mind to figure out what else that could possibly mean. I didn't seem to come to her.  
  
"So what else are you trying to say...?!" she asked.  
  
"I can't tell you... that just wouldn't be right... you've got to figure it out, Runa. And please... don't fight in the war. Don't. You... you mean a lot to me, too..." Zero replied. He couldn't believe that he had just said that. It was true, he had turned his ways.   
  
Then, a few female screams were heard, obviously from a few girls running down the hallway. Dalanette ran into the console room, and sat at her special seat in front of her screen, barely noticing Zero.  
  
"RUNA!! What is he doing here?!" she shouted, finally wanting to know. The three girls were out of breath, and each seated themselves at their own seats in the console room. D-chan had begun preparations for adding her piece of starbuddy armor to the Midnight. Izumi was getting ready to send commands for the defense line, and Dalanette was also beginning preparations for the Midnight's upgrade.  
  
"Uh... uh, Dalanette... D, I'll explain later... I guess," Runa replied.  
  
"EXPLAIN NOW!" Izumi shouted, furious.  
  
"I can't!" Runa cried, and then sat down at her seat in the console room, beginning the upgrades on the Midnight.  
  
"Don't do it, Runa... please, I don't want you to fight in the war!" Zero told her. Runa shook her head.  
  
"It's my war, too. I gotta fight next to my team! Where's Lewis and Kashie?! They need to help with the Berserker Midnight Landmarlin's upgrade! We're gonna have to fully arm everything and set the--"  
  
"WE KNOW THAT!" Dalanette shouted. She ran a hand through her short black hair, trying to get her bangs out of her focoused eyes.   
  
  
Just then, Kashie and Lewis ran through the doors as the whole place shook.  
  
"Oho, yeah, look, we're hit again. Why aren't the defenses putting up a fight!? They should be protecting us!" Kashie shouted.  
  
"WELL NO SHIT!!! YA THINK IT's *EASY* BEING THE DEFENSES MASTER!?" Izumi shouted at the top of her lungs.  
  
"Sorray!" Kashie replied, sitting down in front of the main console, helping upgrade Midnight with Lewis.  
  
"Sorry, Zero. Promise I'll be careful, okay?" she whispered.  
  
"Good..."  
  
  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
  
Arizda: Hope ya liked it! Sorry it took me so long... I've been doing a lot of things lately. I have a whole lot of projects on mah back n' stuff. NEway *passes out snacks* r x r! 


	19. A little too late

Arizda: Hey! Hows ma audience doin' tonight/today? ^_^ I want u all to say hi to the co-author of this story--Reesesluver! From now on, she'll be helping me out along the way as I write this ficcy. I'm glad to know that you all like what I've done with it so far. To tell you the truth, I was surprised! It's the first time that I feel I've done something right! :D Now, let's get to business *passes out snacks* . ON WIT DA FICCY!  
  
Reesesluver: *sits crosslegged and holds up a stop sign hurriedly* Hey hey hey, hold et for a sec! Anyhow, like Arizda sed, I be Reesesluver - the semi-co-author that's acting as battle scene mistress and beta reader. Uh huh. ^^; A few of you already know me, more than a few don't - but hey! You do now! I'd advise you to guard your reeses related products very closely around me...And on a more relevant note, I've been wracking my brains to try and find ways the remaining characters we's gots can fit in. I'll hafta talk wif Arizda though but just letting everyone that has a charrie-that-hasn't-been-put-in-yet know that we HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN BOUTCHU! *coughs and swaps into her announcer style voice* And now back to your regularly scheduled fanfic.  
  
DISCLAIMER: YAAAAAAAH! I don't own Zoids. 1, 2, 3, I'll say it again. I don't own Zoids. :p I own my few original characters, while out of the generosity of others, I am using OTHER'S characters, since this is an interactive ficcy. :) Okie, on we go...  
***********************  
Runa didn't know WHAT she felt when Zero began walking out of the room. She felt like her heart was being squeezed and twisted into a big tangled mess, similar to the way her emotions were coming along. She glanced around the console room and looked at everyone working hard to put on the upgrades to her Zoid.  
  
"Come on, Runa! We only need YOU to complete the Berserker Dawn White Marlin! Midnight needs to form to Dawn in order to stand a chance alone in this battle!" Dalanette replied. Runa's heart dropped.  
  
"...A... Alone...?" she whispered.   
  
"O-oh! Nononono, not ALONE alone, just if you end up getting separated from the rest of the Star Team in the battle. You'll be able to do a lot more damage in battle with Midnight's upgrade in Dawn," Dalanette corrected. Runa nodded. However, there was a small piece of her that was left out of the discussion. She couldn't do it.  
  
'Aaaaah, c'mon, Runa, what's wrong?' Runa hugged herself tightly and walked off to one of the other, smaller consoles. She stood in front of it, trying to figure out what Zero meant. It didn't make any sense to her. She sighed, and fingered a thin, shiny cord around her neck. On the end of the cord was a thin, glossy pendant, which she hid in her top. The pendant was simple. Silver, with a simple aquamarine stud in the center. She hardly ever let anyone see it, but for a brief second, she took it out and stared at it.   
  
'What did he mean...?'  
  
'!!!'  
  
'What!? What is it? What--'  
  
'RUNA! Your parents!!'  
  
It was then that Runa let out a gasp, one that caught Lewis's attention. He turned to her, worry in his eyes as he watched her fumble around on the console she was in front of, fear struck in her watery eyes.  
  
"Oh... no... no..." Runa mumbled, her hands instantly covering her mouth. Sobs shook her already shaky and nervous body, and tears flowed from her sad, blue eyes. Lewis practically jumped from his chair and ran up to help her as she fell to her knees. She kept repeating the word "no", as she cried into Lewis's shoulder. He read over what was on the screen...:  
REYUSUKE KIRAZUNA  
  
RELEASED  
AS OF PAST SIX YEARS, MAY 2ND  
HIKO KIRAZUNA  
  
RELEASED  
AS OF PAST SIX YEARS, MAY 2ND  
'I can't believe it...!!! How can THIS be happening!? It all picked a perfect time to start...'  
  
'What am I gonna do...? My parents... they're... in The Confederation!'  
  
'Hold your head up strong, Runa... at least until there's something we can do about it...'  
  
"Runa! Runa, it's okay, what's wrong?" D-chan asked, rushing over to her best friend's side.  
  
"What's this all about?!" Kashie asked, staring up at the screen.  
  
"I don't wanna do this anymore!" Runa cried. She wiped the tears from her face, only letting more stream down. "Leave me alone!"  
  
With that said, she ran out of the console room as fast as she could. Kashie only stared up at the screen with a perplexed look on his face.  
  
'That was smooth.'  
  
Runa didn't bother to acknowledge her inner self and kept running. She could barely see where she was going through the haze of tears but it didn't matter. Nothing really mattered now.  
  
'What good is running going to do for you? Turn around and face your past, Runa!' There was a hint of contempt laced in the message but it was lost on Runa.  
  
She found herself in the hangar, still crying hysterically and the one 'person' she couldn't shake wasn't giving her a whole lot of sympathy.  
  
'What would you know?'   
  
'Enough to know that you, *YOU*, are a big factor in this battle! You ran away from the people that care about you without bothering to explain anything and instead of doing your job, you're crying like a baby in some -'  
  
Another blast rocked the hangar, abruptly cutting short her irate subconcious. Alarms and sirens blared briefly before it fell dark as the power gave way. All Runa heard was her own ragged breathing, punctuated occasionally by hiccuping sobs but those were becoming fewer and far in between.  
  
'Who would be -'  
  
'Who else? If I was you, I'd be hoping that the upgrades to your Zoid were done.'  
  
There was a sudden pounding of feet in the corridor that led into the hangar, echoing in the metal room. D-chan skidded into the room, looking relieved she had found Runa but in the same token, worried for her friend. "We finished on Dawn just before the base blacked out. You going to be okay to fight?"  
  
Runa felt empty as she weakly nodded, trying to wipe the tears off her face. 'Not like I have much of a choice,' she thought bitterly.   
  
D-chan watched with concern for another moment before speaking again. "The Berserker Dawn White Marlin's in the next hangar over. Everyone else is getting in their Zoids. I'll see you out there, ok?"   
  
Runa could only nod, heading slowly for the next hangar. 'I don't want to do this..'  
  
She entered the massive room quietly, and despite herself, had to smile at her Zoid. The change was significant from the regular Landmarlin - it could almost be mistaken for a different Zoid entirely. The usual armor had been replaced by a gleaming silver version that was highlighted in a pearly white and there was extra armor to boot. The claws and teeth were the same shade of white as the highlights and the wingspan could've easily doubled. Lastly, the Starbuddy armor had been added and the overall appearance could only be described with one word -- cool.  
  
Dawn acknowledged her with a soft growl as Runa climbed to the cockpit. Her emotions had been purposefully put on hold and for once, her subconcious was quiet. She opened the canopy and dropped into the seat. Even though the controls hadn't been altered, it seemed all that was missing was a pine freshener for a car. Lights blinked on and status reports flickered to life all over the cockpit as the Berserker Dawn White Marlin came to life.  
  
Runa briefly wondered how she was going to get out of the hangar. It WAS opened electronically after all. Another explosion blasted the building, this one far closer than the last had been. It was followed literally a second later by one that blew an Elephander-sized chunk out of the hangar wall.   
  
'Well, that answers that.'  
  
The newly revamped mecha stepped warily out of the hangar, glancing sharply around before proceeding further. It's pilot didn't notice the figure that slipped into the hangar as they left.  
++++++++++++++++++++  
Miyuki strode through the dark base, systematically checking the hangars for the Setsunakute Ii. Her eyes glittered as she finally found her horse-type Zoid, smirking to herself as she advanced. Paul was in his Iron Kong PK outside, waiting for her and staying out of the way of the already heated fighting. Their plan was simple - draw Runa away from the main group, take her down then haul ass out of there before anyone noticed.  
  
It would work flawlessly. There was nothing that could go wrong.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Izumi paused a moment to bring the open channel com-link up, voice strained as she narrowly avoided an overly enthusiastic Rev Raptor. "Has anyone seen Runa?!"  
  
There was a chorus of 'nope's, 'no's and 'negative's from the rest of the Star Team, save for a belated response from D-chan.   
  
"I saw her in the hangar a bit back. She's somewhere around."  
  
"Okay." Izumi left it at that, cutting the connection and cursing *LOUDLY* as a missile struck home.  
=====================  
'Oh, this is just *GREAT*!'  
  
Dawn backed up a bit, uneasily looking from the slowly advancing Iron Kong PK to the far swifter and far more imposing, Setsunakute Ii. Runa continued retreating, the Berserker Dawn White Marlin beginning to growl lowly. Absently, she wondered exactly how Miyuki had recovered her Zoid but the thought was put aside as the Iron Kong opened fire.  
  
She dodged the majority of the blasts, trying to dart to the left and escape the line of fire only to find the Setsunakute Ii leaping at her. Dawn wheeled around, surprisingly nimble for such a heavily armored Zoid. It bounded a short distance away before sliding to a halt and slowly turning back to face its two opponents.  
  
Miyuki studied Dawn, calculating for a moment before murmuring something to Paul on the private channel. He merely nodded his consent. It was what he would've chosen to do anyway.  
  
Runa watched them, readying herself to dodge more missiles. As expected, Paul opened fire again but the volley of ammunition was far more vicious this time. Dawn buckled for a moment under the impacts then leapt to the right, responding with a salvo of its own. The Iron Kong returned the blows easily, its pilot unconcerned. The shots had gone slightly wide. The girl was getting nervous.  
  
'Runa - this isn't right.'  
  
'You know, this isn't really a good time for a conversation!!'  
  
'RUNA! Listen to me! The Iron Kong shouldn't be the only one attacking! Where'd the -'  
  
Warnings appeared wildly all over the cockpit, giving Runa only seconds to pull Dawn out of the way. The Setsunakute Ii slammed into Dawn's midsections, not hitting as directly as it's pilot had intended but it had hit all the same. Dawn whirled, jaws gaping as it lunged for a section of its attackers armor.   
  
Miyuki started in surprise, wondering how Runa had retaliated so quickly - and with half of a very heavy Zoid bogging it down. She quickly regained her composure though, pulling away and leaving Dawn with a chunk of armor in its mouth. The horse Zoid reared back, front hooves flailing wildly. A few of the blows struck home, the pearly white of the Berserker Dawn White Marlin's armor turning a pale grey, highlighted by angry bullet holes and dents with occasional streaks of soot and exhaust marring the grey.  
  
Runa winced as she was thrown around in the cockpit, slamming her head against the side of bars that were meant for safety. She groaned, sitting dazed for a moment before stirring herself to move Dawn. The Zoid's performance was down by twenty eight percent and most of her remaining ammunition had been rendered useless or jettisoned. 'Wonderful,' Runa thought bitterly as her Zoid fell into stride, closing fast on the Iron Kong PK.  
  
Paul sucked a breath in sharply, trying to slow the White Marlin's progress with a few well placed missiles. Each hit was only worth a seconds recoil though and the armored Zoid simply plowed through his deliberate shots.  
  
In a short burst of speed, the White Marlin was on the Iron Kong, stunning it for a moment with a gouge from the horn on its head. Electricity crackled around the new hole in the monkey, the power supply dropping substantially. Runa didn't pause in her attack, Dawn ripping into the Kong's armor and guns. Paul scowled, cocking his Zoid's heavy fist back and letting loose a left hook that would've made a professional boxer proud.   
  
Dawn staggered, the overall performance dropping an additional ten percent and then dropping steadily as the Setsunakute Ii hammered it on the opposite side. It was all Runa could do to stay concious and keep Dawn upright, aside from counter attacking.  
  
She shuddered, breathing heavily as her heart pounded in her throat. She was NOT going down this easily! The White Marlin somehow ducked out backwards from both of the attackers, then choosing Paul to Miyuki, lashed out at the Iron Kong PK again. The hole in the Iron Kong's chest was hit heavily and the power cell was disconnected from the main computers completely. The well armed Zoid crashed to the ground in a crackling heap. Runa smiled shakily.  
  
'Score one for the home team!'  
  
Dawn pushed away from the fallen monkey, turning her Zoid to face the Setsunakute Ii. It was barely damaged, save for the comparatively small piece of armor missing, the wiring inside exposed. Runa studied the performance level for a moment, sighing. The dramatic fall had stopped then rose a bit as Dawn remained stationary, leveling off somewhere around sixty percent. Not good. The individual statistics weren't exactly confidence inspiring either. The armor was functioning at about sixty five percent (which Runa found surprising, considering all the beatings the White Marlin had already taken), the attack systems were down by thirty percent and the speed and manueverability was functioning nicely at about ninety percent.  
  
Miyuki wasn't one to just stand around at an impasse, especially when the mission was this close to being completed. The Setsunakute Ii charged forward, clashing with the White Marlin. There was a sickening crunch of metal from both Zoids as they strove to push further into each other, paws and hooves stirring dust into the sky. The sky had taken on a dirty hue from the exhaust, smoke and ash in the air, making it seem as if it was in the wee hours of the night instead of the morning.  
  
Dawn strained against the larger and heavier Zoid but it was slowly losing ground, despite how much it dug its claws into the ground. Miyuki smirked, wrenching her Zoid's front quarters to the left then to the right, shaking the White Marlin from itself and flinging it several Zoid lengths away. A plume of fire flickered up as her few remaining missiles were crushed on touchdown, brightening the dark sky for a few seconds.  
  
Runa slammed her head again, on the same safety bar, crying out sharply.  
  
'Whoever put that in is *SO* going to pay later..'  
  
Runa tried to coax her Zoid to its feet, receiving only a whine of the paw joints. She looked to the slowly advancing Setsunakute Ii and redoubled her efforts. The whine increased in volume but the Zoid slowly gathered itself and forced itself to its feet.  
  
Miyuki smiled to herself. This one was in the bag.  
  
The horse-type mech suddenly broke into a run, rearing on its hind legs and thrashing the White Marlin's midsections. The disabled Zoid shuddered under the blows, the joints whining again. Even the Starbuddy armor wasn't meant to be able to take a beating like this. The Setsunakute Ii fell back for a moment, turning around and kicking out with its hind legs. The powerful blow hit Dawn in the neck and partially on the head and sent the Zoid flying, crashing down roughly and rolling with the momentum.   
  
The limp and half broken form that was thrown out of the canopy as the cockpit glass shattered could have easily been mistaken for shrapnel.  
  
Runa laid half concious in a pool of her own blood, which had already soaked the earth into a semi-mud like state. She was distantly trying to figure out why there it sounded like another Zoid was coming up - fast. The steady pound of hydraulics became a rhythm that she concentrated on, focusing on to stay awake. She wondered if it was just her head pounding and whether what seemed like ion boosters being initialized was merely the distant sounds of battle.  
  
The last thing that Runa saw before lapsing into unconciousness was a black and grey blur gracefully clear her body then Berserker Dawn White Marlin in a single leap, front paws outstretched, their claw tips glowing dark crimson.  
  
Miyuki stared at the new Zoid that had literally come out of nowhere, seemingly detaching itself from the now dark grey -- nearly black -- horizon. It didn't have the markings of either the Alliance or Federation, in fact, the Zoid was unmarked at all. Just a big, black canine with green 'eyes' -- the cockpit -- and what looked to be a lightweight vulcan gun mounted on its back. But the gun wasn't what was worrying Miyuki. It was the claws.  
  
The unknown Zoid slammed into the Setsunakute Ii, shearing away armor and taking a substanial chunk out of one of the horse's wings. It perched on the larger Zoids back, anchoring itself with a set of very sharp wrist blades. In almost the same fluid action, it leaned down and bit into the Setsunakute Ii's armor, snarling. Miyuki cursed as her Zoid let out a screaming parody of a whinny, hauling it back onto its hooves in an effort to dislodge the Zoid. It clung on for a moment more before retracting its wrist blades and ricocheting off. Miyuki watched the video screens as the Setsunakute Ii dropped back to all fours, her Zoid moving in perfect unison with what she wanted to do. Just as the unknown Zoid would've cleared her range, the hind legs whipped out and caught it in the back.  
  
Much like the White Marlin, the canine flew. Unlike the White Marlin, the pilot had anticipated this, having watched it happen to the White Marlin. Ion boosters kicked in as it would've slammed chest first into the ground. Would've been annihilated as its legs were ripped off with the momentum. Would've had the cockpit glass shattered and the pilot surely killed. It wasn't.  
  
The ion boosters corrected the sharp ascent and to a stander-by, someone would've thought the pilot of the fox Zoid had a death wish, going faster when it was already out of control. The ion boosters bought the pilot time to bring the canine's legs under itself and when it was, the ion boosters cut. The black mech hit the ground, leaning back as it skidded in a cloud of smoke and dust. It self arrested with its front paws, the hind quarters sweeping around as it pivoted to face the direction it had come.  
  
Miyuki watched in surprise. The wolfish fox Zoid hadn't been destroyed when it should've been. The pilot was very good, compared to most every other person she had come up against. Perhaps a match for her own skills. But still, this...this...*thing* shouldn't be a problem. She shrugged, coming up with a makeshift strategy and putting it into motion. Nearly at the same time, both Zoids took off running. The Setsunakute Ii lowered its head threateningly and in response, the claws on the canine began glowing again, first a pale red then steadily darker. The details of both Zoids became more and more evident to the pilots as they closed the space between each other and Miyuki quelled the trepidation growing in her throat.   
  
This Zoid - no, its pilot, Zoids didn't act on their own - was far too confident, too assured, too bold. It should've been afraid. The Setsunakute Ii outweighed it easily, could overpower it easily. Didn't the pilot realize that she, Miyuki, had just felled the Berserker White Dawn Marlin? Felled a Zoid that was heavily armored, armed and manned by a skilled pilot.  
  
...And those claws. Whoever heard of a Strike Claw type attack with a *red* power up?  
  
Instead of the expected clash, the canine didn't attack. It leapt up and *over* the Setsunakute Ii, landing behind it and whipping around on a dime. Miyuki gasped, startled and angered at the stunt her opponent had just pulled, feeling slightly stupid for falling for it. The claws had been a ruse. For once, the unshakable pilot was nervous.   
  
She tried slowing the Setsunakute Ii, but at the pace it was already going, it wouldn't matter by the time she slowed it enough. To make things even more frustrating, at the speed she was going now, turning around would knock out one of the legs. The hybrid Zoid streaked towards the horse, ion boosters kicking in again. It drew even with the horse's hind quarters, almost casually leaning over and latching onto the Zoid's flank. It allowed itself to be dragged, persistently hanging on despite the damage it was taking to its legs.  
  
The bizarre task the wolf was trying to accomplish was finally pulled off. The Setsunakute Ii's left hind leg pulled free of it's motors, remaining attached but virtually useless. A dead weight. The canine dropped away from the dislocated leg and slowed to a halt, it's pilot grinning as the Setsunakute Ii tripped. The horse was by no means totalled but it sure as hell wouldn't be going anywhere soon.  
  
Glancing back at the wreck of the Berserker Dawn White Marlin, the Zoid warrior hesitated for a moment. If the Setsunakute Ii was left unattended, its pilot could very well escape. But if the pilot of the white Zoid didn't get some medical help soon...  
  
The problem was solved with a compromise. The vulcan gun on the black Zoid's back pivoted, locking on the Setsunakute Ii. The pilot opened the com-link while setting up the targetting program to keep its sights on the horse, tone venomous and low with unbridled contempt. "If you even *try* to move your Zoid or get out, I shoot. I shoot until you aren't recognizable as a human, much less whoever you are. I think this is far more than reasonable, considering what you did to that other pilot. I know I'm making a mistake by not killing you now." The communications radio was closed as quickly as it had been opened and the canine moved slowly towards the Berserker Dawn White Marlin, head turned towards where Miyuki was seething in hatred, not in the least intimidated by the threats.  
***********************  
There was a stunned silence from the entire crew that was fighting; having just heard a *VERY* angry sounding transmission on the communications systems on nearly all channels. Even the remaining forces they were fighting seemed to pause and hesitate, unsure of whether it had to do with them or not. Kashie was the first to speak up.  
  
"You think that had anything to do with Runa?"  
  
"Kash, that wasn't Runa," D-chan muttered. "Runa doesn't sound all evil-like."  
  
"I know that wasn't Runa!" Kashie snapped.  
  
"Well, we haven't heard from her this entire time," Lewis commented. "It'd be worth it to check it out."  
  
Izumi joined the conversation, sounding just as tense as the rest of them, possibly more so if that was possible. "Well, if it's worth it then why don't a couple of us go over there? There's gonna be hell to pay if that had to do with Runa.."  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
The pilot of the weird Zoid -- a short girl in her mid-to-late teens -- studied the unconcious and heavily bleeding warrior on the ground next to her. It appeared as if she had been thrown clear of the Zoid, either that or regained conciousness and crawled out. She glanced back at the wrecked white Zoid then to her own, shaking her head. "Fusion, you watching that..horse..thing?"  
  
The black Zoid growled in acknowledgement.  
  
The girl sighed. "Good." She stood up, frowning further. She was no medic by any means but even she knew that this much blood was bad. "Actually, bad is an understatement," she corrected herself humorlessly. "It's not everyday you find someone that's been bleedin' so much the ground's turned to mud under them.."  
  
She half jogged to the crouching Zoid she had called Fusion, popping the canopy and half hanging inside. The teen rummaged around for a moment then dropped out holding an emergency med kit. She continued to talk in low tones to the Zoid and was rewarded by a soft growl or a glance in her direction after each pause. "Just *had* to be five minutes late. She might not be this bad if we had gotten there five minutes faster.."  
  
Returning to the girl, she crouched down, hesitant to touch her. Not because of the blood but for fear of making things worse. Again, she sighed and set about cleaning up the more accessible cuts.  
  
Minutes later the black Zoid snarled viciously, its pilot looking up sharply in fear that the Setsunakute Ii was moving again. Instead, she watched a group of Zoids advance on the wreck site. She pushed her unruly brown bangs from her eyes and stood up, realizing distantly she just got her headband bloody. She shrugged after a moment, mumbling to her irate mecha. "Great day this has been so far, huh?"  
  
The wolf rumbled a growl, glancing almost anxiously from the horse to the few Zoids coming towards them. The girl wiped the blood on her hands off on her jeans, casually, as if it was oil from working in a garage. "Cool it, Fuse. I don't think those guys are out to get us. Then again, if they are.." she paused, letting out a breath she was unaware she had been holding in. "..we're...very...screwed."  
Reesesluver: *holds her breath anxiously* ..Alright, I'm absolutely terrified I mangled something and it's probably not a good idea to tell this to you folks, but that's alright! Arizda likes it but I'm scared of you lot. *shudder* Anyhow, Arizda shall be taking over again for next chapter; she's on a mental lunch break right now. *serious nod* Fricasseed F.O.R.D. raccoons, perhaps. ..or possums. Mmm. Possum. ..Anyhow, we'll try an' get that next chapter up for you lot ASAP and I have nothing more to say..so..I'm out!  
  
Arizda: Hola! Yesyesyes... SEE HOW MUCH GREATER THAT THIS IS, now that Reesesluver has a hand on it?! It's like... ten TIMES better... how does she do it? Anyway, sorry for taking such a ridiculously long time to get this done. Heh. Well... *passes out snacks* Read and Review, and I promise that the next chapter will be up before eight months ^_~ Geez... it's been so long, someone could've had a KID by now................. 


	20. Mallory

Arizda: HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!! OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG! I am soooo sorry for not writing in like, a whole NINE MONTH SESSION! And I'm sure that someone has has a kid by now x_x. Geez... NEway... **passes out snacks** Ooohh geeeez... I have SO MUCH TO CATCH UP ON! And I think that the character submission status is closed, so don't send me anymore! I've got to make due with the ones that I've got! And if you sent me a character by e-mail, please re-email it to this address if you still want them in: fluffychicken@survivormail.com . My last e-mail address started being stupid. :) NEway... ON WIT DA FICCY... after Reesesluver talks!!!  
  
Reesesluver: *sleeping in the corner, collecting dust, wakes up eventually* Whoa, wait, we're writing again? *hoarse cheer, stretches* Alright, now that Arizda here is back on track (I hope), I'll do my part to KEEP HER THERE! *threatening roar, lapses back into usual half awake self* Now, it seems we've got snackzez. But no drinks. So, huzzah, here's a toast to writing on a regular basis. *gets clobbered by people that read my ficcy, smiles disarmingly and goes back to her corner after passing out liquidy beverages*  
  
DISCLAIMER: Even after nine months, I still don't own Zoids... just MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS. All the other characters belong to someone else. :P Even that newborn isn't mine... he just showed up nine months later...  
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-  
As the strange girl attended to Runa's accessable cuts and bruises, Fusion guarded Miyuki, and several zoids grew closer to the scene.  
  
"Oh, come on, girl, wake up!" the girl snapped at the unconscious Runa, roughly nudging her with her foot. It was very clear that she wouldn't be waking up for quite some time. The girl stood up and observed the scene before the other zoids could rush in. It seemed to be that Runa was completely thrown from the cockpit and onto the ground, because there would've been a very noticeable trail of blood if she had crawled out with a bit of regained consciousness.  
  
"HEY! YOU!"  
  
The unfamiliar looked up at a purple panther-like zoid, unmistakeably Dalanette's Darkness Panther, which was looming over her.  
  
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?"  
  
"Eeep... I'm guessin' this' gonna turn out to be one fuckin' big mess, Fusion..." the girl mumbled, with the growl of a response from her zoid.  
  
"Wait, wait, hold on... lemme handle this..." D replied, barging through in her Starbuddy Penguin. "NOW... WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?"  
  
The girl rolled her eyes at Runa's dysfunctional teammates, and folded her arms, trying to look like she knew what to say... even though she was still thinking.  
  
"Listen... I didn't do anything!" was all she could come up with.  
  
"Well... obviously not..." Dalanette replied. "What happened to Runa?"  
  
"Err... well, I was just kinda... watchin' the battle n' stuff--"  
  
"WATCHING THE BATTLE IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR!?" Dalanette shouted, thinking this girl was crazy.  
  
"Eh, I'm not exactly sane, a'ight? I watch battles, y'know, watch for wrecks to get some free custom pieces. They sell for a nice price. I just so happened to see this one happenin', and she was gettin' her ass kicked around the block so I jumped in to save her!"  
  
"Do you even know who she is?" D asked.  
  
"No! I was just watchin', cos I saw two kickass custom zoids, a'ight? ... and I saw her gettin' killed, and my short sense of dignity was a lil' miffed, so I barged in, thinkin that if one of 'em died, I could always scrap their zoid, and I'd be set for a few months..." she paused, smiling. "..though maybe that wasn't the best idea to tell y'all of that, but I did..." the girl answered, with pride. D cocked an eyebrow as she listened to the girl's story.  
  
"Well then... who are you?" she asked. The girl smiled brightly, as if expecting the question. A swift mock bow, a gleeful grin and a tone of voice that was far too hyperactively cheerful for a battlefield ensued shortly, causing a few of the team to cringe.  
  
"Well hiiii there, I'm Mallory Arasoi Genji! How goes et for ya?" Dalanette was taken quite aback with this girl's openness, but she didn't really care all that much.  
  
"She saved Runa!" Kashie's voice broke in, the Slashback Spino running through the scene.  
  
"Umm... not yet," Mallory corrected, losing the cheeriness quickly, glancing down at Runa. "She's still laying down in a puddle of her own muddy, bloody doom filth... so... let's get her out, alright?"  
  
"Um, yeah, sure, but what are we going to do about this war? And--HOLY SHIT--what about the Beserker Dawn?!" Kashie wondered, looking down at the trashed zoid, which wouldn't be fixed for awhile.  
  
"Who are allayou?" Mallory asked, back to the hyperactive speed talk, beginning to get confused, as things were going a lot faster, now. There were seconds of pause as Dalanette jumped out of her Darkness Panther to retrieve Runa.  
  
Izumi responded, the scowl on her face unable for Mallory to see but painfully evident in her voice. "We'll tell you later."  
  
Lewis chimed in, sounding equally annoyed. "Maybe, if identities can be trusted with a psycho that scavenges battles while the battles are still going on."  
  
There was a roaring snarl and a volley of very fast gunfire. Dalanette flinched, resisting the urge to shield her ears from the sound. Mallory spun around in surprise, shouting an obscenity while the Star Team glanced between themselves.  
  
"FUSION, GET YOUR RUSTED ASS AFTER THAT THING!" Mallory bellowed at the zoid, which snarled back at her then almost sullenly leapt to comply.   
  
"Thing!? What thing?" Kashie inquired, looking around.  
  
"There was nothing for that Zoid to attack!"  
  
Another voice broke in, one no one was really expecting to hear or really recognized at first. Zero. "Yes, there was," he said grimly. "The Setsunakute Ii. It wasn't fully put out of commission." There was a pause and his voice seemed to falter a bit, either that or the communications links were fuzzy. "I'm going to go after it."  
  
Mallory's zoid was by now in reluctant pursuit of the horse type zoid, swerving to avoid a wreck and in doing so, intercepting a missile launched by the Setsunakute Ii. It took the blast hard in the chest, recoiling and rolling back with the momentum, slamming to a halt in a massive explosion that sent red hot shrapnel flying. The Bahamut blazed by overhead, in far faster pursuit than a light assault/sniper ground zoid like Mallory's could ever hope to attain.  
  
As a one, the Star Team sweatdropped. Runa half dead and bleeding in Dalanette's arms, Zero - a guy that was supposed to be with the enemy - coming out of nowhere and sounding as if he was worried about the entire situation, a psycho pilot with a zoid that could have an organoid system maybe, for a zoid to follow such direct orders unmanned was bizarre, then that zoid being blown up moments later.  
  
This entire mess was bloody insane.  
  
D-chan decided to take a hold of the situation for the moment, watching as Dalanette made her way back into the Darkness Panther with Runa. "Alright, Runa needs medical attention. Izumi, you're defense master, give us some defense -" she was interrupted briefly by aggressive cursing but it seemed to be only for show. She waited a moment for Izumi to quiet before continuing.  
  
"We're going to need Mallory in someone's zoid, unless we want to leave the person that saved Runa's ass here."  
  
"Never mind anyone volunteering," Mallory chimed in, sober for the moment and sounding authorative. "I'm goin' with the one that has a nice vocabulary, methinks I could learn somethin', eh?"  
  
"Vocabulary?" Lewis echoed. "You mean Izumi?"  
  
"The hell?! I didn't agree!" Izumi growled, miffed at being distracted while throwing together a strategy.  
  
"Too late," Mal responded gleefully, greeting Shadow cheerily. "I don't need to be in the cockpit, leave me outside and I'll be fine. You're supposed to be decent at defense after all. If you're all talk and no action, then, no problem, I can hitch a ride with someone else."  
  
The subtle jab was enough to get Izumi to open the cockpit, almost launch herself out wielding a loaded revolver and yell at the top of her lungs at the brunette standing by her zoid's paw. A stream of obscenities later, which were responded to in the same manner, Mal was sitting crosslegged on Shadow's canopy.  
  
Dalanette spoke up before anyone else could. "This is all well and good guys, but Runa is DYING HERE AND WE'RE SQUABBLING ABOUT SEATING ARRANGEMENTS!"  
  
There was a silence then Izumi barked out orders for the defense, stationing everyone in a circular formation around the Darkness Panther, including herself. It was a bit cramped until someone volunteered to go after Zero.  
  
D let them go, then addressed everyone. "Someone that has local mapping capabilities installed on their system, pull up the nearest hospital that's friendly and send the coordinations to everyone. Then pick up the pace."  
  
"Wait! Hang on!" Dalanette barked, feeling as if she were the only one who knew where to go. "What about the emergency base set up on the Tenquo Area? REMEMBER!? There's expert medics set up there just for this war! GO THERE!"  
  
"You have Runa, YOU GO THERE!!" Kashie shouted. Dalanette sighed and took off in the direction of the base. "AND SEND US THE COORDINATES!" He wasn't sure if Dalanette had heard him or not.  
  
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  
  
Arizda: It seems kinda short... oh well. See how GOOD THIS CHAPTER IS!? It's cos Reesesluver helped! I'm so grateful! Anyway, read and review, and we'll get the next chapter up, soon! 


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